The top 15 bus lanes where drivers were caught out the most in Reading over the past year have been revealed.
Reading has the highest density of bus lanes per mile of road in the UK, with a greater proportion of residents using buses compared to many other towns and cities.
However, there are thousands of occasions each year where drivers wrongfully enter bus lanes in their cars or other vehicles.
When this happens, Reading Borough Council’s highways department issues the driver with a penalty charge notice (PCN) requesting that they pay a fine for breaking the rules.
A total of 58,384 bus lane PCNs were issued from April 2023 to April 2024, with 43,023 (74 per cent) of these resulting in a person paying a fine.
The cost of a fine is £70, reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days of the PCN being received.
These statistics are contained in Reading Borough Council’s annual parking services report. It also shows the exact amount of bus lane PCN issued in every lane in the borough.
You can see the top 15 below:
1. Minster Street (westbound) – 5,903
2. St Mary’s Butts (northbound) – 4,588
3. Friar Street (westbound) – 3,843
4. Friar Street (eastbound) – 3,816
5. Bath Road – 3,024
6. London Street (Northern Section) – 2,227
7. Southampton Street (Northbound) – 2,113
8. Stanshawe Road – 2,540
9. Beresford Road (northbound) – 2,044
10. Southcote Lane – 1,926
11. Vastern Road (Eastside) – 1,770
12. Blagrave Street (East to West section) – 1,757
13. Bridge Street (northbound) – 1,713
14. A329 King’s Road (East to West) – 1,471
15. The Forbury (East/West Section) – 1,324
The council made a surplus from bus lane enforcement in 2023/24.
It made a total of £1.9 million (£1,904,517) income, with enforcement costing £780,520, leaving a net surplus of £1.123 million (£1,123,997).
Of the 43,023 fines paid, 38,921 (67 per cent) were paid at the £35 discount.
Thousands of PCNs were either written off or cancelled. 3,523 PCNs were written off, and 1,863 were cancelled after the driver made a formal representation.
The amount of PCNs issued and paid has gone down from 2022/23, the previous year, where 70,047 PCNs were issued and 61,905 (88 per cent) of these fines were paid.
According to new legislation, a six-month warning period is required when enforcement begins for any new bus lanes.
In 2023/24, a new bus lane was established along Bath Road westbound near the Aldi, with 345 warning notices and 235 PCNs being issued after that six-month introductory period.
The annual parking services report for 2023/24 will be discussed by the council’s traffic management sub-committee on Thursday, March 6.
Warning notice and fine figures for the controversial bus lane in London Road between Liverpool Road and Cemetery Junction will be reported next year, as the bus lane went live in August 2024.
This will also be the case for the two new bus lanes in Oxford Road completed in October and November last year.
