Belfast City bus lane camera 'raises £1m in fines'

The Donegall Square East camera caught out commuters illegally using the bus lane 17,972 times in the past 15 months

A camera trained on a bus lane in Belfast city centre has generated almost £1m in fines.

The Donegall Square East camera caught out commuters illegally using the bus lane 17,972 times in the past 15 months, the Belfast Telegraph reported after a Freedom of Information request.

In all, figures from the Department for Infrastructure indicate more than 50,000 penalties have been issued.

More than £2.7m in fines was raised from 22 June 2015 to 31 August 2016.

Castle Street, Belfast is a close second in terms of penalty notices.

Figures suggested 14,184 fines were issued, worth an estimated £706,366.

Other bus lane hot spots include East Bridge Street and College Square East.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Infrastructure could offer no comment on the figures.

Bus lanes were introduced as part of the On the Move traffic plan.

Last year, Ciaran de Burca from the DRD's transport projects division told Stormont MLAs that the scheme was not about making revenue.

More than £500,000 was raised from fines between 22 June and 16 September 2015.

He said he and his staff did not believe that they would raise this level of fines.

Extra signs had been put up in efforts to reduce the number of drivers being caught out, he added.