Preston bus lane fines top £600k in two months

More than £600,000 has been added to the amount generated in fines by a bus-only zone in Preston in the space of just two months.

A so-called ‘bus gate’ was installed on Corporation Street, near the city centre, back in May.  It banned all motor vehicles except buses and Hackney taxis from the short stretch of the route between Heatley Street and Marsh Lane.

Lancashire County Council gave motorists a grace period of more than a month before it started issuing penalty charge notices (PCNs) to those caught on specially-installed cameras flouting the new rules. During that time, it also stationed marshals in the street on some occasions to warn drivers directly about the new set-up.

The authority previously revealed that between 25th June – the day it started to enforce the regulations with PCNs – and the end of September, it received £968,415 in income from fines.

The latest figure provided to the Local Democracy Reporting Service shows that the total amount had risen to £1,589,995 by the end of November – an increase of almost £622,000.

The first period spanned 98 days, while the latest increase came during the 61 days of October and November – suggesting very little change in the rate at which cash is being added to County Hall’s coffers as a result of drivers disobeying the ban.

However, the authority says the number of tickets has decreased each month since the system went live – although it did not offer a breakdown, nor an overall total.

The rate of income generation within a particular timeframe does not equate to the rate at which fines were actually being issued during that period, because of the time lag for making payments. At the end of September, around 9,500 penalties that had been issued up to that point were yet to be paid – meaning the income from them would have been included in the October-November tally, boosting it by around £332,000 if they were all settled at the discounted rate offered by the authority for prompt payment.

If paid within 14 days of being issued, a PCN will cost a rule-breaking driver £35, as opposed to £70 if they pay it later during the 28-day window they are given to send the money to County Hall.

Of the near £1.6m in fines generated so far, the majority – £1.149m – came from the bus gate being breached at the Marsh Lane end of the stretch by motorists heading from the university campus towards Ringway and the city centre – more than double that raised from drivers unlawfully heading in the opposite direction.

Prior to the introduction of the bus gate, the city-bound side of the route was one of most congested in Preston, with queues common throughout the day and especially during peak times.

County Cllr Rupert Swarbrick, cabinet member for highways and transport at Lancashire County Council, said the new arrangements had been put in place for a good reason – and added that the money generated by motorists failing to stick to the rules benefited all road users.

“By reducing congestion on Corporation Street, we can increase the reliability for public transport and encourage more people to think about using the bus and other forms of active travel.

“We don’t want to issue any tickets, but they are a necessary tool to ensure the road doesn’t become too congested.

“Any funds that are generated from the Corporation Street bus gate go into county-wide highways budget and is one of the reasons why were able to recently announce an extra £4.2m investment into the county’s roads.

“We don’t want to issue any tickets and the number we have issued has decreased every month since the bus gate went live in May, which shows they are working as a deterrent.

“Signage is clearly displayed on Corporation Street itself and approaching streets to warn drivers of the bus gate in advance.

“To avoid a ticket, we strongly advise people to follow the correct route using the numerous signs in this area and not rely on their sat navs as they may not have the updated route,” County Cllr Swarbrick added.