Whopping £10m fines dished out on one STREET in just months – how to challenge it
DRIVERS have been landed with a whopping £10m worth of fines on one street in just months- but here is how to challenge it.
Manchester City Council made more than £10m from bus lane fines on just one street in 17 months.
The local authority collected a total of £10,241,545.13 from drivers fined for driving along the Oxford Road bus gate in Manchester.
The bus gate means ordinary drivers are banned from sections of the road between 6am and 9pm.
Drivers caught travelling through these sections of the road are fined £60, which reduces to £30 if paid within 21 days.
Since the beginning of 2020, a total of 182,707 fines have been handed out for cars driving in the bus lane along Oxford Road, data obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service showed.
The most lucrative section of the road for the council is between Charles Street and Brancaster Road, where a total of 119,272 fines have been handed out between the start of 2020 and 30 September.
Earlier this year Birmingham City Council warned drivers about fake fines letters are arriving in residents’ letter boxes, with drivers phoning a number and assuming they’re paying the council.
It’s now warning drivers to double-check the fines they receive are legitimate by asking for evidence.
A spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: “There are no current plans to change or add to the number of signs already in place to alert motorists to the bus lane.
“The Council is content that the signs that are in place are adequate, that they meet the legal requirements and are prominent enough to make the bus lane restrictions clear to motorists.
“The income generated through penalties supports the costs of operating the camera enforcement and processing penalty
charge notices.
“The use of any surplus income that is generated beyond those costs is set out in the legislation which governs bus lane enforcement.
“This essentially ring-fences that income for use on environmental improvements, public transport services or highway improvements in Manchester.”
How to challenge a PCN
The registered owner of the vehicle can appeal against a PCN on the following grounds:
The alleged contravention did not occur;
You have also received a fixed penalty notice from the Police for the same contravention
You were not the owner of the vehicle on the date the notice was issued;
You are the registered owner but a hire company;
The vehicle was under the control of a vehicle trader who signed a PCN accepting responsibility whilst the vehicle is in their control;
The vehicle was taken without consent;
The penalty charge exceeds the relevant amount
Website penaltychargenotice.co.uk provides the following advice to drivers who wish to appeal a bus lane fine:
If you are going to appeal or make a representation do not make payment until you have heard back from the local authority
If the police take action against you for the same offence you will not be required to pay any penalty charge notice issued.
Was the offence captured correctly? The penalty charge notice will usually have a photograph showing your vehicle in a Bus Lane or there may be a web link to where you can view it online.
If there is neither then write to the local authority and ask for a copy of the photograph. You also have the right to view the video of the contravention.