Cash-strapped Labour council raises £500,000 in six months after catching 130 drivers a day with camera on its new 'bus gate'

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A ‘money-maker’ bus lane camera has raised a staggering £500,000 in fines in just six months – after 25,000 motorists were caught out.

Cash-strapped Coventry City Council has caught 130 drivers a day after installing a camera on a one-way ‘loop’ through the city.

The new ‘bus gate’ means that access to several main roads will only be allowed for buses, cycles, taxis, private hire vehicles or permit holders.

The Labour-run council said that the bus gate – which is only identifiable by a sign warning of the restrictions – was introduced in Hales Street in July 2023 to help safety, traffic flow and air quality.

But residents said the scheme, which operates 10am-6pm Monday to Saturday covering Hales Street, Trinity Street, Burges and Palmer Lane, have said it is more about money than safety.

The new bus gate camera, which is only identifiable by one sign, has caught 25,000 motorists in just six months as residents complain its nothing more than a money-making move

One comment on the local newspaper’s Facebook page suggested the scheme was simply a ‘money maker’, adding that the one-way route had ‘plenty of pedestrian crossings’ and was rarely congested. Any pollution was from ‘up to ten buses sat idling with engines running’, he added.

Vicki Marie Yeomanalso added: ‘So it did what it was designed to do, extract money from motorists. All councils are the same.’

A third suggested that so many drivers had been caught out because the warning signs were inadequate.

Drivers who don’t follow the rule face a £70 fine, reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days or upped to £105 if not paid within 28 days.

Details of the large sums flooding in from fines were revealed in the council’s third quarter financial monitoring report ahead of its Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

It said: ‘There are income pressures in Bus Lane and Parking Enforcement attributed to temporary bus gates closures, however the enforcement at Hales Street and the Burges/Trinity Street cameras has seen £500,000 improvement in the income projections since quarter two.’

A Coventry City Council spokesman said: ‘The restriction was introduced under an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order which means that it can be in place for up to 18 months.

‘The enforcement camera has been in place for six months and 25 thousand penalty notices have been issued which has resulted in £500,000 being collected in fines.

‘Drivers are not taken to court as bus gate enforcement is a civil matter not a criminal one. Drivers who receive a penalty notice can choose to appeal to an independent adjudication service.’

Earlier this week the authority said it needed to slash spending by millions of pounds to plug a £30m budget gap. It blamed its ‘financial crisis’ on years of under-funding by central government, high demand for services and rising costs.

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