Warning as bus lane camera fines due to come into effect

Drivers will be given a warning letter for their first offence during the first five months that the enforcement is in operation. Credit: PA

Drivers in Newcastle will face fines for driving in a city centre bus lane from Monday (17 October).

Motorists who enter the bus lane outside Newcastle Central Station on Neville Street and at the junction of Westgate Road will be issued fines.

Drivers will be given a warning letter for their first offence during the first five months that the enforcement is in operation.

However, any repeat offenders after March will face a £70 fine, which will be reduced to £35 if they pay within two weeks.

The city council says measures were needed to "ensure the smooth and efficient running of the bus network on one of the busiest routes for buses in the city".

Coun Jane Byrne, the council's cabinet member for transport, said: "We are taking this action to ensure that Newcastle is a clean, green and connected city that's easy to move around, and having an efficient public transport service is a key part of this.

"We have given plenty of notice that we will start enforcement on one of the key routes for buses into the city centre. These bus lanes have been in place for a number of years, and we've given motorists a six-week warning period before starting enforcement, to ensure they are fully aware and to help plan their journeys."

All income generated from the fines will be put back into improvements to public transport.

The cameras were initially installed back in 2016 but have not yet issued a fine. The rollout was delayed while Newcastle City Council awaited a verdict on how adequate the bus lane warning signs in place on John Dobson Street were.

A bus lane camera installed on John Dobson Street was once dubbed 'the most lucrative in England'. Credit: ITV Tyne Tees

The local authority had to offer to refund £2.5 million worth of tickets in 2020, after the Traffic Penalty Tribunal ruled that it was guilty of "fundamental negligence" over the signage. Between February 2016 and June 2017, it became the most lucrative camera in England - issuing 90,000 tickets.

The Council then installed new signs and road markings in the northbound lane, where enforcement started again in 2021.

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