Brighton and Hove City Council makes £1.8m in bus lane fines

The bus gate at York Gate has blue no entry signs, but there are calls to do more to make the new restrictions clearer

A council has been accused of treating motorists as "cash cows" - after making £1.8m on a set of bus lane cameras.

Four cameras in Valley Gardens, Brighton, issued 310 fines a day during October.

A Freedom of Information request (FOI) found the Green-run city council made £1.8m in the preceding nine months.

Conservative councillor Robert Nemeth said it is "cashing in" on people's confusion, but the council said it is "not about making money".

The bus gate measures were brought in under an Experimental Traffic Order in June 2020.

Four cameras monitor vehicles along Valley Gardens, where the new road layout bars cars from the bus lanes.

'Something wrong'

An FOI by the North Laine Community Association revealed in the first nine months of this year, the council issued almost 75,000 fines from the cameras.

The camera on York Place made the council the most money, at £1m.

During a Environment Transport & Sustainability Committee meeting on Wednesday, questions over the clarity of the signage were raised.

Mr Nemeth urged Brighton & Hove City Council officials to look at ways to make the rules clearer for drivers.

He said: "It is clearly being used as a revenue-raising measure by stealth which sees the council cashing in on confusion and hurting the city's economy.

"Labour and the Greens, in their rush to declare a 'car-free city centre' don't care how much they are hurting residents and businesses and tourists that keep this city running."

Labour councillor Theresa Fowler said that people were also confused by the term "bus gate" for the lane.

'Keeping traffic flowing'

Despite concerns, the Greens and Labour agreed to make the cameras a permanent fixture. The Conservatives voted against it.

A council spokesman said the bus lanes were "widely consulted on and publicised" and "bus gates are common elsewhere in the country".

He added: "These measures are not about making money. They are about keeping traffic flowing and improving the environment, and making it possible for people to travel easily by bus, car or bike.

"All revenues made from the enforcement are invested back into transport improvements and other environmental improvements our city needs."

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