Thousands caught in camera clampdown on Edinburgh bus lanes

MORE than 5,000 motorists may have been snared by new cameras aimed at catching motorists using bus lanes in Edinburgh.

Fines of £60 are to be slapped on 1,061 drivers caught during the first day of the clampdown last Monday.

Edinburgh city council, which has taken took over responsibility for enforcing bus-lane rules from the police, expects a similar number to have been caught every day since.

The council had earlier predicted it would need to issue only 4,000 fines a year, which it estimated would more than cover the £120,000 cost of administering the cameras.

However, transport leaders insisted they were perfectly within their rights to issue the fines after thousands of drivers were issued with warning notices after being caught flouting the law during a three-week grace period earlier this month.

The Scottish Government handed enforcement powers over bus lanes to local authorities from 1 April, with the previous £30 police fine being replaced with a £60 penalty fine, only half of which is payable if the driver stumps up within a fortnight.

Gordon Mackenzie, Edinburgh council’s transport and environment convener, said he expected the number of fines to fall by as much as 80 per cent over the next months, based on experiences elsewhere.

He said he was “saddened” at the initial number of drivers caught but was sure people would change their ways once they realised they had been fined.

He admitted: “It could well be as many as 5,000 people for the week. The first-day figure was a bit surprising, but we expect the number to drop off dramatically.

“The experience from elsewhere in Britain is that the number drops by as much as 80 per cent in the first few months once people realise what has happened.

“These are not new bus lanes, the police did not have the proper resources to enforce the rules, and there are 3ft-high warning signs in place. This is about keeping public transport moving through the city, not making money.”

Tory councillor Joanna Mowat said: “I think once people realise they have been caught, the figures will go down.

“It does seem a very high number for the first day. There is a balance to be struck between freeing up traffic space and this being used as a revenue-raising initiative. My concern is it will be doing both things.”

Earlier this month, the council revealed plans to use “vigilante” speed controls as part of a clampdown on drivers flouting the laws.

However, in the meantime, the bus-lane crackdown is expected to generate hundreds of thousands of pounds for the local authority.

Some 3,600 motorists were caught during the three-week trial period, which would have netted the council more than £220,000 had fines been imposed.

Five cameras rotate between ten locations where the bus lanes are abused, including routes into the city from Calder Junction, Leith Street, Old Dalkeith Road at Cameron Toll and Willowbrae Road at Jock’s Lodge, as well as routes heading away from town in Calder Road at Bankhead Avenue, London Road at Jock’s Lodge, North Bridge and Willowbrae Road at Jock’s Lodge.

Glasgow City Council has also started using the new powers but has refused to say how many motorists had been caught so far at its 12 sites, including Cathedral Street and Great Western Road.

Edinburgh council already rakes in more than £6 million from parking fines, the equivalent of 210,000 tickets, with Chambers Street and George Street among the most ticketed.