BUS LANE
FINES

Across the UK

Research last year revealed that UK councils had raked in over £35 million from bus lane fines alone. Here at Northgate we wanted to delve a little deeper and uncover just how many fines individual councils are handing out, how many appeals are made and the percentage rate of appeals won.

Methodology

We made Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to over 300 councils across the UK, asking for information on how many bus lane fines they had given out between June 2017 – December 2018, the total income from the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), how many fines were contested and how many were revoked.

The councils featured in our dataset successfully provided some or all of the requested data. The councils not featured either have not yet responded to our FOI, or are not able to provide the information due to the following reasons; they do not have bus lanes, they do not hold the information requested, or they were unable to provide the data in the format requested within the allocated man hours for an FOI request.

Which council is making the most?

Manchester City Council came out on top, with our analysis showing they take on average £1,037,764 per month in bus lane fines, nearly four times more than the next top earning council, Glasgow, who earn £269,812 on average.

Coventry City Council came third, taking £173,216, with Nottingham City Council and Reading Borough Council coming in fourth and fifth respectively, both receiving fine payments that totalled just shy of £160,000 per month.

Council Fines Paid (£)
Manchester City Council£1,037,764
Glasgow City Council£269,812
Coventry City Council£173,216
Nottingham City Council£159,643
Reading Borough Council£158,197

As well as average monthly earnings, our analysis also revealed each council’s highest earning month, during the 19-month period.

Manchester City Council raked in a massive £2,647,666 during January 2018, the most out of all the councils featured. City of Wolverhampton Council came second, earning £235,679 in July 2017 and Lancashire County Council third, with fines totalling £166,830 in January 2018.

Explore the interactive map below

For a geographic comparison, view the available datasets from each council below

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Month {{city.month}}
No. of cases {{city.fines}}
Amount paid {{city.amount}}
Appeals Made {{city.appeals}}
Appeals Successful {{city.successful}}
Map of the UK

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Month {{city.month}}
No. of cases {{city.fines}}
Amount paid {{city.amount}}
Appeals Made {{city.appeals}}
Appeals Successful {{city.successful}}
Map of the UK

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Month {{city.month}}
No. of cases {{city.fines}}
Amount paid {{city.amount}}
Appeals Made {{city.appeals}}
Appeals Successful {{city.successful}}

*Data not provided by councils

Where should you appeal?

Our analysis revealed drivers fined in Sandwell are most likely to see their fines revoked upon appeal, with an 86% success rate.

Whilst Doncaster Council could only provide one month of data, their first with operating bus lanes, their results potentially show a loophole in their bus lane restrictions, as 80% of all appealed PCNs were withdrawn.

Of an average 3,852 fines handed out per month in Wolverhampton, only eight appeals were made, but interestingly six were rescinded upon review.

% Appeal success – most likely

Council Appeals Made Successful Appeals Appeal Success %
Sandwell Council House 201 173 86%
Doncaster Council 658 526 80%
City of Wolverhampton Council 8 6 74%
Oxfordshire County Council 101 60 59%
Sheffield City Council 868 491 57%

On the other hand, drivers who receive a bus lane fine from Norwich City Council may have to accept their fate, with only a 10% chance of having their appeal upheld. Coventry City Council are also unlikely to revoke PCNs with only two successful appeals for every 20 made.

Both Nottinghamshire County Council and Bromley and Bexley Council rejected 85% of the appeals made, whilst Tameside Metropolitan Borough denied 84%.

% Appeal success – least likely

Council Appeals Made Successful Appeals Appeal Success %
Norwich City Council 4.5 0.5 10%
Coventry City Council 20 2 12%
Nottinghamshire County Council 208 31 15%
London Boroughs of Bromley & Bexley 311 48 15%
Tameside Metropolitan Borough 86 14 16%

Explore the full data set below

City/Borough No. of cases Amount paid Appeals Made Appeals Successful Appeal success rate
Leicester City Council 4185 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Staffordshire County Council 739 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Croydon Council 229 N/A 0.5 0.1 22
Manchester City Council 36214 £1,037,764 177 66 37
Glasgow City Council 8455 £269,812 1522 500 33
Coventry City Council 5712 £173,216 20 2 12
Nottingham City Council 4846 £159,643 N/A 156 N/A
Reading Borough Council 8021 £158,197 1130 235 21
Cambridgeshire County Council N/A £129,496 215 63 29
City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council 5149 £125,980 375 134 36
Lancashire County Council 5714 £123,770 24 4 18
City of Wolverhampton Council 3852 £113,714 8 6 74
London Boroughs of Bromley & Bexley 1592 £97,559 311 48 15
London Boroughs Barking & Dagenham 1898 £93,919 N/A 4 N/A
Swindon Borough Council 2738 £80,402 8 4 52
Doncaster Council 3539 £75,398 658 526 80
Aberdeen City Council 2593 £74,513 406 N/A N/A
Sheffield City Council 2829 £71,641 868 491 57
Leeds City Council 3647 £67,640 369 113 31
Warrington Borough Council N/A £63,167 112 45 40
London Borough of Havering 653 £61,348 N/A N/A N/A
Oxfordshire County Council 2267 £59,313 101 60 59
Sandwell Council House 1807 £51,038 201 173 86
Portsmouth City Council 1757 £50,362 118 46 39
Nottinghamshire County Council 1526 £45,214 208 31 15
Southampton City Council N/A £39,431 326 169 52
Salford City Council 1331 £38,586 120 58 48
Norwich City Council 877 £25,380 4.5 0.5 10
South Tyneside Council 978 £24,414 361 74 21
Brighton and Hove City Council 822 £22,627 N/A N/A N/A
Tameside Metropolitan Borough 478 £21,467 86 14 16
South Gloucestershire Council 978 £19,507 39 16 40
Oldham N/A £12,183 0.4 0.2 43
Luton Council N/A £9,055 142 46 32
London Borough of Enfield N/A £4,728 N/A N/A N/A
Middlesbrough Council N/A £4,194 0.3 0.1 20

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Sources:
Confused.com

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