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Bus lane cameras are new ‘cash bonanza’ for councils

Bus lane cameras made £31m in a year for councils in 2015-6, with the most lucrative camera making £6,000 every 24 hours.

Red bus in London bus lane

The RAC says bus lane cameras have become a “cash bonanza” for local authorities.

The investigation by BBC England found almost 4,000 motorists a day are fined for driving in bus lanes.

BBC England contacted 160 authorities responsible for highways in England, 64 of which had bus lane cameras. Its research found the most lucrative bus lane in England is on the northbound section of John Dobson Street in Newcastle-upon-Tyne – council data shows that between 23 February and 31 October 2016 a total of 62,975 penalty charge notices were served to drivers using this bus lane, making a total of £1.5m. This equates to £5,960 a day.

BBC England added that according to councils, cameras are clearly signed and they expect income to fall as drivers learn to stay out of the lanes.

However RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: “Rather than just rubbing their hands together and taking the money councils should be asking questions as to why so many motorists are being caught driving in bus lanes. They should be looking to understand if motorists are deliberately flouting the rules or whether this is happening accidentally, and if so why.

“Most motorists are aware of the regulations concerning bus lanes and there is broad acceptance that they are there to aid traffic flow by helping to keep heavy traffic moving more efficiently, reduce congestion and benefit the environment.

“For this reason we don’t believe that the majority of motorists choose to drive in bus lanes on purpose so it is our strong suspicion they are either confused by the signs or simply haven’t seen them and suddenly find themselves driving in a bus lane.”

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Natalie Middleton

Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for over 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day.