A bus gate on Union Street designed to support social distancing has been broken since the start of 2021, leaving rule-breaking motorists without any financial penalties.
The mobile camera unit was put in place between the junction with Market Street and the turn-off with Adelphi in September last year as part of the Spaces for People project.
Only buses, taxis, bikes, and authorised vehicles like the emergency services are permitted to go through the gate.
More than £136,000 worth of fines in four months
From September through to the end of December 2020, a total of 2,277 fines were issued to motorists for going the gate in non-permitted vehicles.
Because the fines are £60, this could bring in £136,620 for the council, however, the total will be lower as the penalty can be reduced to £30 if paid within a set period.
But from the start of January until today not a single person has been fined, because of an “unrepairable equipment fault”.
‘Incredibly high number of vehicles flouting this traffic restriction’
Yesterday, between 4.50pm and 5.20pm, we counted a total of 45 vehicles that are not allowed through bus gates going through the one on Union Street.
If all of these drivers were fined, it could have brought in £2,700 worth of fines for Aberdeen City Council.
Councillor Alex McLellan of the SNP said: “The administration introduced a number of poorly thought-out interventions across our city and it appears they aren’t even trying to make them work anymore.
“There is an incredibly high number of vehicles flouting this traffic restriction, evident to anyone who stands on Market Street for any length of time.
“Our city needs reliable public transport, and for that to happen our buses need to be able to rely on bus gates like this.”
Opposition SNP councillors accused of hypocrisy
Tory councillor Ryan Houghton, convener of the council’s city growth and resources committee, insisted the “vast majority” of the public have “respected this traffic intervention”.
He said: “It is disappointing that the equipment used for the bus gate was unrepairable and therefore required replacing.
“The interventions introduced by the council were supported by SNP councillor Michael Hutchison, indeed he is previously quoted as saying the intervention was ‘both well-signed and well-publicised’ and because of this the vast majority of the public have respected this traffic intervention.
“It appears SNP spokesperson, councillor Alex McLellan, is being hypocritical when he argues on the one hand that the interventions are poorly thought-out, and then on the other hand says interventions like this are needed to ensure buses can operate their services properly.
“The fact remains that this, and other interventions, were introduced to ensure the council complied with Scottish Government legislation around Covid-19.”
What does the council do with cash from the fines, and what’s next for the Union Street bus gate?
All cash generated from fines from the city’s bus gates is used to help fund transport projects in the city, like cycle lanes, or bus stop improvements.
When the Union Street measure was functioning, the only time drivers were fined was when city wardens were manning the mobile bus gate camera.
A spokeswoman for the city council said: “Due to an unrepairable equipment fault, the system at Union Street is being replaced.
“Work is due to start later this week and is expected to be completed by next week.
“In the meantime, we would remind motorists the bus gate was installed to support the free flow of traffic and to support pedestrian measures in the city centre.”
When asked why it has taken until the middle of July to replace the broken bus gate equipment, the council said that attempts to carry out the repairs were made, but this approach was not considered viable.
What’s happening with the rest of the Spaces for People measures?
The city council previously agreed that the Spaces for People measures on Union Street will be brought under the City Centre Masterplan review at a committee next month, along with proposals for the former BHS building.
The temporary Spaces for People measure across the city were carried out after a £1.76 million grant from the Scottish Government’s Spaces for People fund.
The controversial measures were designed to protect public health by giving the public more room for social distancing, and encourage active travel like walking or cycling.
This week, the council announced a full 13-week timetable for the removal of Spaces for People works in George Street, Rosemount and Torry.