Hull Bus Lane Cameras Come Into Force

Drivers caught using Hull's bus lanes during operational hours now face a £60 fine.

New cameras installed in bus routes into the city centre have come into effect today.

During a recent two-week trial of the scheme by Hull City Council - around 10 thousand motorists were caught using the lanes when they shouldn't have.

Councillor Martin Mancey told Viking FM that he hopes the crack down will also encourage more people to get around the city by bus. He told us:

"One of the complaints that we hear from people who justify staying in their cars is that you can't rely on the buses to get you there on time so by ensuring that the bus lanes are free at peak times and have as far as possible an unobstructed route, the reliability of time keeping should increase.

"It's not about trying to find every available opportunity to put a camera up to generate income. We have been aware for a long time of the disregard of a minority of motorists for the bus lane rules. This is a measure that we from a council perspective have introduced to work with the police to tackle the problem which seems to have been increasing over recent years.

"We found in a two-week period something like 10,000 people in the bus lanes when they shouldn't have been in the bus lanes. It did indicate that there was a need to do something to tackle bus lane abuse. Bus lane abuse means that buses can't run to time, it obstructs their routes and ability to run to time which is vitally important."

Peter Shipp, EYMS Chief Executive, said:

“Properly enforced bus lanes have been in place for many years in many towns and cities, and once bedded in, they work well.

“It is certainly not our wish to see motorists fined for using bus lanes. All we want is bus lanes kept clear so that buses can operate more efficiently and reliably.”