32, 000 MOTORISTS FINED FOR USING BUS LANES – IN JUST 2 YEARS
Calls for better signs – but authority says its markings are ‘clear enough’
MORE than 32,000 motorists have been handed £60 fines after being caught driving in Stokeon-trent’s bus lanes – in just two years.
A Sentinel investigation has found Stoke-on-trent City Council issued 32,698 bus lane penalties in the two years to the end of October, 2020 – earning the cash-strapped authority £835,232.
Quadrant Road, in Hanley, topped the list for the most bus lane fines.
City centre workers say they regularly see motorists driving in bus lanes – and are calling for clearer signs.
Sameena Azmi, aged 18, who works at the Little Dessert
Shop, in Stafford Street, Hanley, said: “I see cars driving along the bus lane all the time – even our drivers have done it unknowingly.
“A lot of the time our customers don’t see the signs and end up driving along it. It isn’t signposted clearly enough and a lot of our customers have got tickets because of it. They come here for their dessert and end up with a fine – and are fuming about it.
“When we were doing Eat Out to Help Out last summer it was a big deal as a lot of people used the bus lane without realising. We’d love for there to be a bigger sign. Not even just for our customers but for everyone in the community and anyone who comes to Hanley as it is a popular place. If people get fined they won’t come back.”
Nikki Brunyee, aged 39, who works at Smokers Choice, in Bryan Street, which is next to the Quadrant Road bus lane, said: “We’ve seen a few people going through the bus lane in Quadrant Road. There isn’t a clear sign for it and a lot of people go down there looking confused and they are not sure if they should drive there.”
Jobi Joys, aged 32, who works at the General Store, in Stafford Street, added: “I see people driving down the bus lane in Stafford Street when they are new to the city centre and get confused. If someone is fined for using the bus lane, I think it is unlikely they would return to Hanley.”
The council says its bus lanes are ‘clearly marked’.
Cabinet member Daniel Jellyman, above, said: “Each bus lane in the city is clearly marked.
“We invite anyone who has received a penalty charge notice to submit a challenge if they have legitimate reasons as to why it has been unjustly issued, and each case will be considered.
“After covering the costs of the operation, any surplus is reinvested in critical public services, like reactive highway repairs.”