Controversial bus gate 'unlawful', man claims

Matt Sanders said the bus gate warning signs are poorly designed and "ensnare" motorists

A man who has written a 150 page report into a controversial bus gate has said the traffic measure is "unlawful" and "defective".

Matt Sanders, a graphic designer from Windmill Hill in Bristol, has spent months compiling evidence about the bus gate on Cumberland Road, that is responsible for thousands of fines.

He claims the signage goes against national regulations, and has urged Bristol City Council to make urgent changes, as well as refund drivers who have been fined.

The council has defended the scheme and said it has put up 14 warning signs, when it is only obliged to display two.

'Not normal'

The bus gate means only buses, taxis, motorbikes and cyclists can pass through it without incurring a fixed penalty notice.

Mr Sanders said he was motivated to compile the dossier after being fined for driving through a bus gate in a different city and reading about the Cumberland Road one.

"If it keeps going at the current rate, it'll end up issuing over 120,000 fines this year, the national average for a bus gate is less than 5,000," he said.

"This one is not normal. There is something wrong with the design."

Bristol City Council issued over 20,000 fines in the first three months of the year, making it on course to be the most prolific in the country

The dossier outlines various issues with the warning signs, which Mr Sanders claims are either the wrong size or colour, or the wrong type, according to guidance from the Department for Transport.

He has now sent a copy of the report to every councillor in the city.

"I've explained everything from first principles, how it breaches regulations, and I think the councillors need to look at this for themselves and not just believe everything the transport department tells them," Mr Sanders said.

'Extra warning'

Bristol City Council, who revealed the bus gate had raised over £500,000 in fines in just three months, have defended the scheme which it said was installed to help improve air quality and give priority to buses travelling into the city centre.

A spokesperson said: "To give extra warning, an electronic sign was put in place for a month shortly after the bus gate was installed in September 2023.

"People who continued to drive through this bus gate in error were issued with warning letters as a reminder, before the first Penalty Charge Notices were issued four months later in January 2024."

Previously other council's have admitted mistakes in the installation of bus gates.

A decade ago drivers in Bath were refunded after being fined for driving through a city centre bus gate, while the same happened in Coventry two years later.