Tameside Council rakes in £300K in fines from drivers using bus lanes

More than £300,000 has been raked in by Tameside Council in the last three years from bus lane fines alone.

From the beginning of 2021 to the end of 2022, the council has issued 12,609 fines from which they have accrued £324,074, according to Freedom of Information data gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Of the five bus lanes in the borough, the biggest earner for the council is New Beech Street in Hyde, which took in £148,143 from just over 5,000 fines during that period.

Bus lanes can only be used by buses, taxis and cyclists – disabled drivers/blue badge holders are not exempt from bus lane enforcement.

The council states that the money generated from these fines goes straight back into the maintenance and improvement of highways in the borough. 

A Tameside Council Spokesperson said: “Income generated through bus lane fines in Tameside goes straight back into maintaining and improving our Highways. As a council we maintain 26,000 street lights, 48,000 road drainage gullies, 1,155 kilometres of pavements and 758 kilometres of carriageways.

“We want people to abide by the highway restrictions in place but we will take enforcement action where people are in breach and we are able to do so by meeting the standards for clear and safe signage.”

Tameside’s £324,074 figure pales in comparison to Manchester Council’s Oxford Road bus gate – which raked in over £10m from fines just in 17 months. For the period April 2022 to September 2023 the council collected £10,241,545.13 in revenue, an FOI also submitted by the LDRS revealed last year.

Here is a breakdown of how much each bus lane in Tameside earned for the council:

Oldham Rd, Ashton: 

• PCNs: 3647
• Money taken: £71,095

Audenshaw Rd, Audenshaw:

• PCNs: 1351
• Money taken: £32,162

New Beech St, Hyde:

• PCNs: 5085
• Money taken: £148,143

Manchester Rd South, Denton:

• PCNs: 2526
• Money taken: £72,674

Manchester Rd North, Denton:

• PCNs: 0
• Money taken: £0

According to the council’s website, if a driver is found to be illegally driving in a bus lane, the council will send a Penalty Charge Notice through the post to the registered keeper of the vehicle along with photographic evidence. The charge is £60, reduced to £30 if paid within 21 days of the date of service.

Failure to pay the amount outstanding will result in the council taking action against you/the registered keeper of the vehicle to recover the amount due.