Newcastle's lucrative bus lane camera catches new drivers

At one point the camera was named the most prolific in England, making £6,000 a day in revenue for the council

A notoriously lucrative bus lane camera turned off after complaints its signs were inadequate has caught 133 drivers in the first week of being reactivated.

More than 91,000 motorists were issued with fines of up to £90 between 2016 and 2017 for driving on the northbound side of John Dobson Street.

Newcastle City Council thanked drivers who had followed the rules.

Cabinet member Ged Bell said bus lanes were essential for the public transport needed to tackle climate change.

"They help to keep buses moving, enabling services to arrive on time, which makes using public transport more appealing to more people," he said.

"Getting the bus, instead of driving, is one of the ways we can take action on climate change and poor air quality."

Only £300,000 reclaimed

A number of changes have been made to signage alerting drivers to the bus lane and it now exceeds legal requirements, the council said.

It had been accused of "fundamental negligence" over a failure to properly warn drivers when the restrictions came into force.

Following a Traffic Penalty Tribunal verdict last year, which concluded that the council was at fault, the authority offered to refund up to £2.5m of fines.

Only about £300,000 has been claimed back so far, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

In the week prior to the bus lane's reactivation on 1 November, 302 drivers were recorded travelling along it.

The council issued warning letters informing those motorists of the changes.

In the first week of November last year 235 people received warning letters for driving in the bus lane. In 2018 the figure was 533.