Bus lane fine

[SleeplessinSeattle53]

Has anyone successfully appealed a bus lane/gate fine?

I've been sent a penalty notice for driving in a 'bus gate' (what even is that?) but there are no road markings visible and I'm overtaking some roadworks so had to be in that lane temporarily.

I've sent an appeal off - do they put the time they give you on hold to pay at the cheaper price?

Am bloody fuming, the city I live in is getting worse and worse for this kind of thing. There's barely anywhere that allows cars any more.

Leeds city centre is becoming increasingly impossible. It's such a shame it used to be relatively uncontested and easy to navigate but the constant road changes have destroyed it.

I’m a bit confused by that Leeds one. That’s on the main city centre loop!

I got fined last year for entering a bus lane. Was at work as a community nurse and had to find a patients door number which sat along the bus lane. Slowed down to find it and pulled into bus lane as fast cars up my arse and was fined £70. I appealed but never heard anything so payed it and forgot about it. 10 months later they emailed me to say I had won my appeal and they refunded me.

That map has very confusing wording - the red bits are annotated "restricted to general traffic - access for buses, cycles and hackney carriages only".

If something is "restricted to" something, that usually means only those things can use it - e.g. restricted to general traffic would imply that only general traffic can use it. Obviously the second half of the sentence contradicts that, but they really should be writing in correct plain English.

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/restricted

"adjective - If something is restricted to a particular group, only members of that group have it. If it is restricted to a particular place, it exists only in that place."

(I am referring to the Leeds map posted above, at https://news.leeds.gov.uk/resources/joxzj-qsmvz-bf6i2-j37xz-w172d )

If you are not aware of the adverse effect of sign clutter on road safety, perhaps you shouldn’t be posting.

If it’s a bus gate fine then you shouldn’t have been on that road at all. It doesn’t matter what lane you were in so the roadworks are a moot point. All the lanes on that road are for buses only. You can’t drive that way.
You went through a bus gate and drove down a street which is for buses only. The lane you were in does not matter.

@Thewizardbinbag I can't tell which road I was on. One of them only has a small bus gate section, and the other it's the whole road. I've emailed them. If it gets close to 21 days with no reply I'll just pay the reduced fine.

Stupid comparison, as you need a license to drive and have to pass tests etc.

You need any of that to post and all bus gates ive seen are clearly signposted

Hard to judge without a maps screenshot of where you are talking about and drawing on the roadworks and how you went around them. If all traffic was having to move out of the lane because roadworks were blocking it then surely everyone received a ticket and they’d quickly realise it’s erroneous

That’s unlikely, the capped bus rate applies!
£2 maximum single journey ticket or a First Leeds Day Rider for £4.50

Is it possible to pay the reduced fine and appeal OP? I'd go back on foot and get loads of photos too.
Good luck. Just had one of those for Sheffield -still no idea what I did wrong. 🤷‍♀️

OP - if you've followed the procedure with Leeds for appealing, stop worrying. It says on the "How to Appeal" section on the website that the clock stops ticking. If they take 6months to review your PCN you still get the 14days post review to pay the lower rate.

Could you not get a bus or a taxi next time

Thanks, will do.

I knew it would be Leeds as soon as I saw the thread title. So many people(including DH) have had this.

Maybe they're trying to reduce car use

I'm glad you're getting good advice now. The first two wankery replies are getting typical of MN. They should be banned, they offer nothing.

See my previous comments re the bus service where I live.

Hey @SleeplessinSeattle53
Sorry to bother you 6 months after the event.
I have just received the exact the same 'bus gate' fine. The sign is not clear until it is too late to reverse and turn right down the other lane. The roadworks are still there, but it appears that a bus gate means the whole road, and a bus lane is part of it. Something I did not know until now.
How did your appeal go?

I had to pay up sadly. They rejected my appeal. But no reason why you can't try to appeal.