City raises £4.7m in just 2 years over bus lane fines

BIRMINGHAM motorists who stray into bus lanes netted the city council £4.7 million in just two years.

Drivers were fined a total of

£2.1 million in 2018, and £2.6 million in 2019.

The penalties were generated on the city’s network of more than 100 bus lanes, with a total of 79,738 penalty charge notices (PCNs) handed out in 2018 across the city and 108,841 in 2019.

The figures mean Birmingham City Council issued the third highest number of bus lane fines in the UK in 2019. The authority defended the fines and said all the cash was used to fund public transport improvements.

The fine for driving in a bus lane or bus only street is £60, reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days.

There are more than 120 bus lanes across the city – with most on major A roads such as Birchfield Road, Stratford Road, Shirley Road, Alcester Road and Hagley Road.

One bus lane in Sheepcote Street, in the city centre, generated £6,000 in its first hour of opening in September 2019, when 54 drivers entered it during its first 30 minutes of being operational.

Comparison website Confused. com issued a Freedom of Information request to all UK councils. It asked for the total number of bus lane enforcement cameras currently in operation; how many PCNs were issued in 2018 and 2019 and how much revenue was generated in total by all bus lane PCNs.

Alex Kindred, Car Insurance Expert at Confused.com said: “Bus lanes may be one of the most confusing challenges motorists face on UK roads.

“Clearly drivers want change to avoid receiving a fine for a genuine mistake. It’s only right that some of the money from PCNs is invested back into solutions, such as clearer signage and exemptions for first-time offenders.”

The money Birmingham City Council receives from bus lane fines pays for the cost of enforcement. This includes the camera system; maintenance of bus lane signs and lines; printing and postage to issue PCNs and staff to check and process PCNs and appeals.

Any money left over must be used to improve public transport and roads.

A council spokeswoman said: “Bus lane enforcement cameras are an important tool in helping to keep the city moving, and any revenue generated from fines is ring-fenced to fund transport network improvements.

“The message couldn’t be clearer: cross the line, pay the fine.

“There would be no need to issue penalty notices if motorists did not drive in bus lanes.”