CITY BUS LANE FINES HIT 268,000 IN JUST TWO YEARS:
CARDIFF is behind only London, Manchester and Glasgow in the number of fines handed out for driving in bus lanes.
Even though the capital’s population is dwarfed by the other three cities, 268,000 fines were handed out between 2015 and 2017.
That works out at more than one fine for every two people living in Cardiff.
As of January 1, 2017, there were 14 cameras in place across the city to record drivers who use bus lanes. The first cameras were turned on in December 2014 and the scheme has since been expanded with six new bus lane cameras installed.
Since then there have been an average of 89,000 fines, which are known as penalty charge notices (PCNs), issued per year.
The cameras cover the 11 miles of bus lanes in Cardiff. On average, they captured nearly 6,000 offenders each in 2017. There has been a 21% fall in PCN’s issued since 2015, when 102,000 were issued, compared to 81,000 last year.
A spokesman for Cardiff council said the cameras stopped the road network getting clogged up.
He said: “Around 90,000 commuters come into Cardiff every day for work and effective enforcement of moving traffic offences helps to stop our road network getting snarled up.
“We are open about where our cameras are sited because we want to change behaviour. In fact fines for driving in bus lanes have fallen by 21% since they were introduced in 2015.
“It’s also important to note that any revenue raised from issuing PCNs is ring-fenced for provision and improvements to parking services and public transportation.”
Some 994,000 fines were issued in London between 2015 and 2017. Outside the English capital, Manchester City Council issued the most PCNs with 353,000.
This was narrowly ahead of Glasgow (339,000), followed by Cardiff (268,000), Bradford (209,000) and Nottingham (195,000).
The data came from a Freedom of Information Request by motoring organisation the RAC.
RAC spokesman Simon Williams called for improved signage and the introduction of “smart bus lanes” which can be used by all vehicles when traffic is light.
He said: “Bus lanes have a vital role to play in ensuring the reliability of public transport as they help to keep our urban areas moving.
“But the sheer quantity of fines – more than a million every year – suggests something is awry and we don’t believe the vast majority are knowingly breaking the rules.
“While there is clearly no defence for deliberately driving in a bus lane, we believe more can be done to make it obvious to drivers when they can and can’t drive in one.”