Britain's most lucrative bus lane? Manchester road rakes in up to £9m in six months

Drivers on a Manchester road have been caught illegally using bus lanes almost 150,000 times in just six months.

If all the fines were paid at £60, the amount in penalties totted up by drivers on Oxford Road in the city centre, would reach £8,990,580 – potentially making it Britain’s most profitable bus lane.

Fines are pegged at £60, but if drivers pay within 14 days of the date receiving the penalty charge, it is reduced to £30.

However, if no payment is received within 28 days, the fine goes up to £90.

More than 50 drivers have successfully appealed their penalty notices.

The huge number of fines comes after the council transformed the road into what it called a “Dutch boulevard” last September.

This meant all vehicles other than buses, black cabs and cyclists were banned from using certain lanes on the road for a large part of the day.

Although the change has been heralded by some, a lot of drivers are unhappy, claiming it is a money-making ploy by the council.

One driver Alexandra Frank told the Manchester Evening News (MEN) after getting caught by the cameras that signs on the road were inadequate.

‘We got caught after Nelson Street and we didn’t see any signs,’ she said. ‘Unsuspecting city visitors and other drivers are corralled into the “no cars” area and then photographed. They realise only too late.’

The council said that most drivers were complying with the new system.

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And the changes were enforced to help make it easier for buses to move along the busy road, an official told the MEN.

One councillor, Angeliki Stogia, told the newspaper that the Oxford Road alterations were part of a £1bn investment in city centre infrastructure.

‘The number of motorists driving into the prohibited zone is very low compared to the volume of traffic which used this road prior to the introduction of bus gates, which proves their effectiveness,’ she said.

A survey at the end of last year found that a bus lane Preston was making £16,000-a-day after cameras were switched back on, making it Britain’s most lucrative.

Another survey claimed John Dobson Street in Newcastle was the most lucrative after it snared more than 60,000 motorists in just eight months.