In some ways, it’s hard to believe the new bus gates have only been running for a year.
Angry locals have had to memorise new driving routes to avoid fines, meanwhile, visitors are still questioning how to get into Aberdeen city centre.
A lot has happened over the last 12 months — including new road markings and signs to make the bus gates “clearer” and a fine increase.
And ahead of a vote a few weeks ago by councillors to make the “experimental” bus gates permanent, the Press and Journal supported local traders with the launch of the Common Sense Compromise.
We wanted to find out how many fines had been issued in the first six months of the new bus priority route after the grace period had ended (November until May).
After submitting our freedom of information request on May 8 (exactly six months after fines started), we have this week finally received the data after a long 98-day wait.
Now, on the first anniversary of the cameras being turned on, we can reveal almost 50,000 fines have been sent to drivers caught out by one of the three new Aberdeen bus gates in just seven months of them fully operating.
And, the data shows that more than 10,000 fines have not yet been paid, meanwhile, some have managed to successfully appeal theirs…
Read on to find out:
- Where most people were caught out, and how much it all added up to
- How many successful appeals have been made
- And, how many fines have been left unpaid…
How many fines have been sent out — and how much do they add up to?
According to the Aberdeen City Council data, 48,768 fines were dished out to people caught breaking the rules between November and the end of June.
The bus gates went live exactly one year ago today, and anyone caught driving through one by the specialist cameras would be sent a warning letter.
But after the “grace period” ended in November drivers caught out were hit with £60 fines, reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days.
However, since May 22, the fines increased to £100, reduced to £50 if paid within two weeks.
Taking the increase into account, this means at least £3,091,720 worth of fines were sent out over seven months.
Even if everyone paid their fine within 14 days, and thus reducing it to £30 or latterly £50, that would still equate to £1,545,860 being put in the council coffers.
Cash generated from the bus gates is ringfenced for infrastructural projects.
We recently reported how the council could use thousands pocketed in bus gate fines to set up a “professionally facilitated bi-annual focus group”.
This would be a place for Aberdeen traders to share their own “personal experiences” and to feed back figures to those responsible for the changes.
Which bus gate generated the most fines?
According to the council’s stats, the most fines were once again sent out to divers caught going through the bus gates on Guild Street, with 31,024 fines clocked from November 8 until the end of June.
That’s £1,861,440 worth of fines…
Meanwhile, Bridge Street had 15,179 drivers caught out by the bus gates over the seven months.
And Market Street had the lowest number of fines with 2,565 sent out during the same period.
How many appeals against the bus gate fines have been successful?
The council data also shows that 919 successful appeals were made against bus gate fines.
Those fines could have been worth more than £55,140.
Broken down even further, that is only 1.88% of fines being successfully appealed…
Guild Street had the highest number of successful appeals with 578, while 285 appeals were made against fines from the Bridge Street bus gate.
Only 56 appeals made after being caught out on Market Street were successful.
If you would like to appeal a bus gate fine, find out more here.
And, how many fines just haven’t been paid yet?
And since November, 11,202 fines have not been paid yet, according to the data provided by the local authority.
Those unpaid fines could be worth more than £672,120.
That means 22.96% of people who have been hit with a bus gate fine have refused to pay so far.
Most of the fines that have not been paid occurred on Guild Street, where 5,978 enforcement notices have not been paid.
There were 4,649 unpaid fines on Bridge Street and 575 on Market Street.
What do you think about these latest figures? Let us know in our comments section below
What does Aberdeen City Council say?
A council spokesman stressed no “projections were made” about how many fines would be clocked, but that figures are “generally decreased over time”.
He added that the purpose of bus gates is to “improve traffic flow, improve journey times, encourage the use of public transport and improve air quality”.
Planning chief David Dunne previously said in May that the spike in cash from bus lane fines would likely be a one-off while drivers get used to the changes.
He added that motorists were also given a generous grace period without enforcement – which is “something they don’t do under normal circumstances”.
In November, we revealed Aberdeen drivers were spared £1.3 million in bus gate fines during the first 40 days because of that grace period.
The council spokesman said: “No projections were made of the volume of enforcement notices that would be issued however the figures have generally decreased over time as would be expected as drivers become used to the new driving routes.
“We would encourage all drivers to find alternative routes and not drive through bus gates.
“We are following up on any unpaid fines.”
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