The Greater Manchester bus lane which is catching everyone out

Drivers in Salford were fined nearly £1 million from six bus lanes last year, figures show.

Data from a freedom of information request (FOI) showed that more than 25,000 fines were issued from the six lanes, with Salford council raking in a total of £960,000 between April 2023 and April 2024.

The data was shared by Personal Injury Claims UK.

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Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) for drivers caught out using bus lanes in Salford is £60, but this is halved if paid within 14 days.

The FOI data showed that 6,954 drivers failed to settle the matter promptly, and faced paying the higher amount.

The majority of the fines issued were at the Chapel Street contra-flow bus lane, north-east of Victoria Bridge Street.

This bus lane started as an experimental bus lane in 2020 and was eventually made permanent, despite concerns from Network Rail at the time about needing full access along Chapel Street at all times.

Other bus lanes which contributed to the near £1m sum included the A580 East Lancashire Road eastbound from Arthur Street to Worsley Road, and westbound from Lancaster Road to Eccles Road, the A6 Chorley Road, Chapel Street from Islington Way to Oldfield Road, and Crescent from University Road to Adelphi Street.

Drivers can appeal PCNs with the council if they feel they have been wrongly issued.

A spokesperson from Salford City Council said: “Salford, like many other areas, has bus lanes to provide efficient public transport that would otherwise be held up in traffic congestion.

"They help to increase bus service reliability and improve commuter times compared to normal car journeys, especially for those passengers travelling in and out of Manchester City Centre.

“All bus lanes are shown by road markings and signs that indicate which vehicles are allowed in the lanes and at what times they are in enforcement.”

Other councils around Greater Manchester have been in the spotlight over bus lane fines recently.

This includes Manchester council, which made almost £5m in bus lane fines in one year, research suggests.