Fury as drivers fined £4k a day on UK’s ‘most | Tech News

A bus gate in a UK city has been described as the “most lucrative” after reportedly netting a council more than £4,000 a day in fines. Lancashire County Council dished out 47,176 penalty charge notices (PCNs) for the bus gate in Preston in 2025.

The outcomes of a Freedom of Information (FOI) request are reported to show that drivers paid £1.54million in fines, which quantities to a little more than £4,200 per day. A bus gate is a short stretch of highway solely buses and different authorised autos are allowed to undergo. They differ with bus lanes, which can be utilized by different autos during sure hours.

Motorists who drive by means of Preston’s bus gate in Corporation Street are fined £35. The quantity rises to £105 if the wonderful is not paid within the primary 21 days, in keeping with The Times, which submitted the FOI request. Its rating places the gate on the prime of a listing of the “most lucrative”.

Delivery driver, Keith Brierly, 83, informed the identical publication: “It’s a cash cow for the council. They’re raking in thousands a week from people who haven’t got a clue.”

A spokesman for the council mentioned the Corporation Street gate was launched to improve bus reliability by means of a busy half of Preston metropolis centre. He mentioned suggestions from bus operators following the introduction of the bus gate has been optimistic.

Liberal Democrat councillor Mark Jewell informed the BBC the bus gate needs to be scrapped. He informed the broadcaster its location is not intuitive and it was “very easy” for people to get caught out.

Figures revealed by The Times show 1.93 hundreds of thousands PCNs for bus lane contraventions have been issued by 102 native authorities final 12 months.

That price drivers a mixed whole of £49.3m, with Manchester City Council making probably the most – £5.3m.

Drivers can appeal in opposition to a PCN to an unbiased tribunal in the event that they assume it’s incorrect. This can embrace PCNs for parking, breaking site visitors guidelines, such as driving in a bus lane, and never paying the Dartford Crossing.

Different guidelines apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

You have 28 days to problem a PCN. If you achieve this within 14 days and your problem is rejected, it’s possible you’ll solely should pay half the wonderful.

Before interesting, you need to make a formal problem, identified as a “representation”. If that’s rejected, you’ll obtain a discover within the post and have 28 days to lodge your appeal after the rejection.

To discover out how to appeal, you must go to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal web site if the PCN was issued outdoors London. If the PCN was issued inside the capital, you’ll find out how to appeal from London Tribunals.

Fines should be paid within 28 days within the occasion of an appeal failing. A profitable appeal may end up in the council cancelling the wonderful or issuing a new discover or refer your case to an unbiased tribunal.

For more element on interesting PCNs, go to the Government’s PCN appeal web page online.