THE MONEY TRAP
One camera – 22,317 fines. Edinburgh – 22,487 £1.3MILLION.. FROM SINGLE CITY CENTRE BUS LANE
A notorious bus lane in Glasgow last year snared almost as many drivers as all the cameras in Edinburgh.
The bus gate at Nelson Mandela Place in Glasgow was the subject of 22,317 fines, worth £1.3million.
But the combined number of drivers caught by the capital’s eight cameras was just 170 more.
Motorists were hammered again last year for total fines of £7.5million in Scotland’s two biggest cities.
Cameras in Glasgow issued penalties at a rate of one every five minutes – more than four times the level of Edinburgh.
The AA’s Luke Bosdet said: “It’s staggering they’re continuing to take so much money. It’s obvious councils are setting a trap as so many people are getting caught. It’s pure exploitation and it has to stop.”
The motoring organisation launched their Caught In A Trap campaign at the end of last year to try to tackle ways in
which motorists were targeted. Bosdet added: “A major focus is on bus lanes. If the f igures are at the levels we see in Edinburgh and, particularly, Glasgow, that tells you the signage is not fit for purpose.
“Those fined should appeal. The more appeals the council get, the greater the chance they will look at a particular bus lane and why it’s not working.
“These bus lanes and bus gates are just a new tax and discriminate against drivers.”
The bus gate at the junction of Nelson Mandela Place and West George Street replaced the camera at the city’s Cathedral Street as Scotland’s top earner last year.
Glasgow’s 16 cameras issued 102,060 f ines, worth more than £ 6million in total. In Edinburgh, eight camera issued fines worth just over £1.3million.
Dr ivers are issued with a £ 60 penalty, reduced to £ 30 if paid within 14 days. Fines rise to £90 if unpaid within 28 days. Bosdet cited research of more than 15,000 AA members, which showed one in eight had been hit with a fine.
Three- quarters of them had no idea they had strayed into a bus lane until the fine arrived in the post.
The AA have called for a cap on the number of tickets which can be issued per location and for first offenders to be sent a warning letter.
Bosdet added: “There should be a cap per camera and, if it goes above a certain number, no more fines should be allowed until an analysis is carried out into why it’s going so badly wrong at that location.”
Aberdeen City Council also operate the cameras but refused to release the fine numbers, insisting a f reedom of information application was submitted.
Their cameras issued £2million in fines in 2016, meaning the overall Scottish total for last year is again set to be around £10million.
Glasgow hailed last year’s level of fines as a reduction on the year before – but the 2017 figures were still more than 90 per cent of the 2016 level. Councillor Anna Richardson, convener for sustainability and carbon reduction, said: “It’s clear from these f igures that fewer drivers are misusing bus lanes in the city, which is great news.
“Driving in a bus lane is, and always has been, an offence for anyone other than permitted vehicles and a Penalty Charge Notice will only be issued to those who choose to ignore the rules.
“Camera enforcement is a good deterrent and it’s encouraging that we’re finally seeing a reduction in the number of PCNs.”
The capital ’s transport and environment convener, Councillor Lesley Macinnes, said: “Edinburgh’s award-winning bus services are among the best in the country.
“Bus lanes are an essential part of the public transport system in the city. Satisfaction with, and use of, bus services is higher in Edinburgh than any other city.”
She said enforcement was used as it was “not acceptable for a small number of other vehicle users to create congestion and adversely affect the abi lity of hundreds of thousandsth of Edinburgh residents to movemo around the city quickly and safesafely each day”.