Drivers have been required to shell out more than £10million in fines in less than two years in Britain’s most lucrative bus lane in a major city.
Motorists travelling through Manchester have been stung with £10.2million worth of fines for driving through bus gates on Oxford Road in the city.
In just 17 months, more than 182,000 fines have been issued, according to data obtained through a Freedom of Information request.
Large stretches of the busy road in the south of the city have bus gates which only allow buses, taxis and cyclists to travel through between 6am and 9pm every day.
More than 180,000 fines were handed out in 17 months on the Manchester bus lane
GETTY
If drivers of private vehicles are found to have travelled through the bus gate, they could be hit with a £60 fine, although this is cut to £30 if paid within three weeks.
The research, from the Local Democracy Reporting Service, found that the equivalent of 130 fines are handed out every day, if taken from January 31, 2020.
This is more than likely to be the biggest money-making road in the UK, with the AA previously awarding a road in Lambeth, having raised £2million between 2018 and 2019.
All money generated from bus lanes within Manchester City Council limits is reinvested into repairs and maintenance work on the road network.
To enforce the bus lane rules, cameras are used to record vehicles in the bus lanes, with a penalty charge notice (PCN) being issued if a vehicle is caught breaking the rules.
There are some exemptions available to drivers if they are forced to drive into a bus lane in certain events.
This could include if there is an obstacle in the road, an emergency vehicle or to avoid an accident, with drivers being urged to only use the bus lane for as long as necessary.
Manchester City Council outlines how all recordings of potential bus lane infractions are checked for reasons like this.
Oxford Road was transformed in 2015 with the introduction of a Dutch-style bike lane, which allows cyclists to ride between bus stops and the pavement in a designated lane.
Cyclists welcomed the move at the time, saying it gave them confidence to navigate some of the busiest roads in the city, as well as encouraging others to get back on the saddle.
Other bus lanes around the country have also been identified as some of the most lucrative, fining drivers who venture into these lanes.
In 2017, a bus lane in Preston was found to be charging drivers on a popular stretch of road in the centre of the city, netting Lancashire County Council £16,000 a day in fines.
Local residents in Preston described the bus lane as a trap after it was revealed that the council had made £115,000 in just one week of it being operational.
In recent months, councils including Durham, Luton and Oxfordshire have gained additional powers to charge motorists for offences like stopping in a yellow box junction, making an illegal U-turn and driving in a bus lane.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Oxford Road in Manchester is the most lucrative bus lane in the UK
GOOGLE MAPS
Research from Confused.com asked drivers which offences they were most likely to commit, with 13 per cent saying they could accidentally drive in a bus lane.
