Reading Bus lane driving fines treble

The numbers of fines issued for driving in Reading's bus lanes has trebled in a year, the council has revealed.

A budget monitoring report reveals almost 55,000 tickets were issued in the last six months, compared with 18,000 over the same period in 2010.

It is estimated that Reading Borough Council could earn up to £3m from the fines.

Changes to the town centre's road pattern, with council-operated cameras, were introduced in April.

Drivers illegally using bus lanes are sent a £60 penalty charge notice, reduced to £30 if paid promptly.

'Fair game'

In the first few months of the changes the council had an amnesty for people who had innocently fallen foul of the new layouts and cancelled 4,500 tickets to motorists who had genuinely made a mistake.

Six months on motorists are still driving in the bus lanes with an average of 400 tickets issued each day, the council said.

Councillor Tony Page, said there were repeat offenders who were "fair game" if they broke the law by driving in the bus lanes.

He said: "Nobody's forcing people to go into the bus lanes, there's paint on the road and the signage in Reading is fully compliant with the regulations."