New bus-lane cameras rake in £500,000 fines in three weeks
Thursday 14th October 2010
Motorists flouting new road restrictions in Bradford city centre have been hit with fines totalling nearly £500,000 in only three weeks.
Bradford Council has issued 16,400 tickets, with fines of £30 each, to motorists entering Market Street and Bridge Street illegally.
The penalties have come about since CCTV cameras were switched on to enforce restrictions banning private vehicles from both streets last month.
Only buses, Hackney carriages and bicycles are now allowed to use sections of the two streets.
A Council spokesman said: “Since September 20, we have issued 16,400 individual tickets to vehicles that are entering Market Street and Bridge Street illegally, creating problems for buses, pedestrian safety and business access.
“The number of people transgressing these regulations is beginning to fall dramatically now as the message hits home.”
The Council said the traffic rules made it easier for buses and pedestrians.
The First bus company, which operates services along Market Street, said the restrictions had freed up traffic, creating improved journey times.
Councillor Chris Greaves, chairman of Metro, the West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority, said: “If this news discourages people from driving on dedicated bus routes and parking in marked bus stops, it will help to prevent delays, inconvenience and even danger to bus users.
“Car drivers thoughtlessly using bus-only routes can cause delays for buses.
“By flouting the law some motorists are reducing the effectiveness of these measures to reduce the cost of congestion in our cities and towns, which have been paid for by local Council tax payers.
“I would like to see West Yorkshire’s councils taking more of this type of action and sending out a message to motorists that there is a cash cost for their selfish behaviour as well as a social one, and I would also like to see Bradford Council investing this cash windfall in further measures to make life easier for public transport users.”
Among those who have been fined in recent weeks are several drivers of private hire vehicles, excluded under the new restrictions. One private hire driver is said to have been issued with nine fines in the last three weeks.
But there have been calls for private hire vehicles to be given the same access rights to city centre streets as Hackney carriages.
Councillor Sajawal Hussain (Lab, City) said: “I think it’s unfair. A taxi is a taxi. When you use a taxi, you don’t distinguish between private hire and Hackney carriage, so why should one be allowed on these streets and not the other?
“Private hire drivers should be given the benefit of the doubt and a period of grace because they are doing a public service job the same as buses.”
But the Council spokesman said: “The traffic regulations apply to private hire vehicles because they are not for public hire. There are more than 2,000 of these type of vehicles, as opposed to only 225 Hackney carriage vehicles.
“Hackney carriages need to move between roads which are located in the main in central locations.”
Source; http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/n ... ree_weeks/
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