Southampton City Council has raked in more than £1m from fines on motorists for driving in bus lanes in three years.
A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Echo has revealed the eye-watering sum made by the council.
More than 40,000 penalty charge notices (PCNs) were handed out to motorists for driving in five city bus lanes from the 2020/21 financial year to 2022/23.
This amounted to £1,154,492.02 being paid to the council across the three financial years.
But despite this, the council made a loss from the cameras in the 2020/21 and 2022/23 financial years and is forecast to make a loss in 2023/24.
The figures bus lane enforcement PCNs paid each financial year
- Northam Road
2020/21 – £15,767.61 605 fines were issued this year.
2021/22 – £36,833.71 1,364 fines were issued this year.
2022/23 – £22,094.86 780 fines were issued this year.
- Shirley Road
2020/21 – £62,322.49 2,597 fines were issued this year.
2021/22 – £84,279.36 3,091 fines were issued this year.
2022/23 – £157,094.88 5,546 fines were issued this year.
READ MORE: The full list of operational bus lane cameras in Southampton
- New Road
2020/21 – £31,011.72 1,228 fines were issued this year.
2021/22 – £81,604.92 3,031 fines were issued this year.
2022/23 – £61,316.93 1,846 fines were issued this year.
- Vincent’s Walk
2020/21 – £128,359.81 4,611 fines were issued this year.
2021/22 – £211,758.43 6,693 fines were issued this year.
2022/23 – £164,192.30 4,891 fines were issued this year.
- Violet Road
2020/21 – N/A
2021/22 – £18,510 1,565 fines were issued this year.
2022/23 – £79,345 2,579 fines were issued this year.
‘A cash cow’
The fines issued by the council are a bone of contention for money, with deputy leader of the Conservative group Cllr Jeremy Moulton describing them as a ‘cash cow’.
He said: "All these attacks on the motorists will drive shoppers and business away from Southampton, which is bad for the city’s economy and jobs.
“Labour sees the motorist as a cash cow and are quite open about this and have plans for more bus lanes, more cameras and more charges and are following in the footsteps of the London Mayor.”
The Shirley Road bus lane was one of the high scorers, with £157,094.88 made in 2022/23 alone.
Kevin May, owner of K&K Hire, a disabled school transport company, was hit with a fine after his drivers partially crossed the bus lane.
But Kevin successfully appealed the two penalties issued.
He said: “The Shirley Road camera is a money-making camera.
“Most people will pay the fines as they don’t want to go through it, but I didn’t pay any of my fines.
“The council know this camera is a money-making camera – all they have to do is move it.
“It’s immoral.”
What is the money spent on?
From management costs to the monitoring and maintenance of the enforcement cameras, the income from the fines is spent on various things.
A total of £64,300 was spent on management costs each year.
In 2022/23, £88,144 was spent on the monitoring and maintenance of the cameras alone, the most money spent by the council from the fines in three years.
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Councillor Eamonn Keogh, cabinet member for transport, said: “A significant amount of the money levied by the penalty charge notices goes to operate and maintain the enforcement system and through regularly reviewing our processes and procedures our expectation is that these costs can be reduced in future years.
“When surplus income is received, this is used to support the purposes defined in s55 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.”
Why did the council make a loss?
Despite the significant sums, the council still made a loss from bus lane enforcement PCNs.
The loss made in the 2020/21 financial year was a result of Covid impacting traffic volumes, thus reducing the number of PCNs issued and income levels.
In 2021/22 the council decided to fund other transport costs using another council reserve.
This was done to restore the bus enforcement reserve levels again for the future.
The loss in 2022/23 followed a withdrawal from the council’s reserve to fund the service.
This follows increasing costs and reduced income from certain cameras being out of action for periods of time.
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