Bus lane earns £16,000 a day in fines

BRITAIN’S most lucrative bus lane brought in £16,000 a day in its first week, it has been revealed as drivers complained that they are being conned.

The 164 yards of road in Preston. Lancashire, has seen 1,924 drivers caught in the first seven days since cameras started operating on Nov 6.

The bus lane cameras automatically issue £60 fines which can be reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days.

The tickets issued in the first week would therefore have made the council £57,720 if all were paid within 14 days – or £115,440 at £60 each. That equates to between £8,245 and £16,400 a day.

In March, a section of road in Newcastle was named as England’s most lucrative bus lane after it was found to be bringing in £6,000 a day by a BBC investigation.

Last December, Lancashire county council was ordered to switch off the cameras – on the section of Fishergate between Mount Street and Corporation Street – only two months after they were switched on when the Traffic Penalty Tribunal Adjudicator found there were inadequate warning signs.

The council had agreed to refund the money from fines on 23,000 motorists collectively charged £1.3million. Now the council has installed fresh signs and last month the cameras were all switched back on.

Yesterday, drivers branded the short bus lane, which is in operation from 11am to 6pm every day on one of the major routes into Preston, a “disgrace”.

Keith Iddon, Lancashire county council’s executive member for transport, said: “Everybody was well advised, the signs are obvious enough.”

Driver Kieron Dawson, 42, said: “It’s a disgrace we get collared with fines for driving down a road.”