Bus lane cameras in Edinburgh
Discussion
From Scotland
www.news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=51672004
Bus lane cameras to trap Capital drivers
IAN SWANSON and CHRIS MOONEY
SPY cameras to catch motorists driving in bus lanes are to be introduced in Edinburgh, it was revealed today.
The city council said it was preparing to make a bid for funding to the Scottish Executive to introduce the mobile cameras to police bus lanes and Greenways across the city.
Motorists would face fixed fines of around £30 if caught driving in bus lanes outwith permitted hours.
But the move was immediately condemned as just another way of ripping off motorists. A spokeswoman for the AA said: "This is yet another additional tax on motorists. We are not convinced this is necessary in Scotland."
And Scottish Tory transport spokesman David Mundell said: "The danger is when cameras are used as cash cows to penalise hard-pressed motorists. Our drivers are already the highest taxed in Europe."
The move in Edinburgh follows yesterday’s introduction of bus lane cameras in Aberdeen, where the council has received £410,000 from the Executive to implement the scheme.
If the Scottish Executive agrees to provide the money, roadside cameras could be operating on the Capital’s bus lanes by 2005 and might also eventually be fitted to the front of buses.
A spokesman for Edinburgh City Council confirmed: "It’s our intention to deploy bus lane enforcement cameras in Edinburgh.
"We are currently working with the Executive to design such a scheme. The provisional date for the cameras’ introduction is 2005, but this is dependent on a successful funding application to the Executive."
Bus lane enforcement cameras have already been introduced in London, where drivers face £80 fines for driving in bus lanes.
Edinburgh’s largest bus operator, Lothian Buses, welcomed today’s news, which is intended to allow buses to move faster. Chief executive Neil Renilson said: "We are very supportive of any and all steps taken to enforce the bus lanes. There’s no point in painting the road a different colour if the rules are not enforced.
"Clearly cameras are more effective enforcement because it provides 24-7 enforcement. London has already fitted cameras on buses and there is no reason why the same scheme shouldn’t be extended to Edinburgh."
But the AA said it did not believe there was widespread misuse of bus lanes. "We don’t think we have the same problems as London," said the spokeswoman. "This is a hammer to crack a nut."
The spokeswoman also said if the cameras are going to be introduced, money from fines must be channelled back into traffic improvements, adding "it must not be used to replace money the Government has given to the council for transport".
The council spokesman said a decision had yet to be made on whether the authority would take the option of decriminalising driving in bus lanes, allowing the city to set the fine and take the revenue, or leave it as a criminal offence, as Aberdeen has done, in which case the Executive would fix the fine and the money would go to the courts.
www.news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=51672004
Bus lane cameras to trap Capital drivers
IAN SWANSON and CHRIS MOONEY
SPY cameras to catch motorists driving in bus lanes are to be introduced in Edinburgh, it was revealed today.
The city council said it was preparing to make a bid for funding to the Scottish Executive to introduce the mobile cameras to police bus lanes and Greenways across the city.
Motorists would face fixed fines of around £30 if caught driving in bus lanes outwith permitted hours.
But the move was immediately condemned as just another way of ripping off motorists. A spokeswoman for the AA said: "This is yet another additional tax on motorists. We are not convinced this is necessary in Scotland."
And Scottish Tory transport spokesman David Mundell said: "The danger is when cameras are used as cash cows to penalise hard-pressed motorists. Our drivers are already the highest taxed in Europe."
The move in Edinburgh follows yesterday’s introduction of bus lane cameras in Aberdeen, where the council has received £410,000 from the Executive to implement the scheme.
If the Scottish Executive agrees to provide the money, roadside cameras could be operating on the Capital’s bus lanes by 2005 and might also eventually be fitted to the front of buses.
A spokesman for Edinburgh City Council confirmed: "It’s our intention to deploy bus lane enforcement cameras in Edinburgh.
"We are currently working with the Executive to design such a scheme. The provisional date for the cameras’ introduction is 2005, but this is dependent on a successful funding application to the Executive."
Bus lane enforcement cameras have already been introduced in London, where drivers face £80 fines for driving in bus lanes.
Edinburgh’s largest bus operator, Lothian Buses, welcomed today’s news, which is intended to allow buses to move faster. Chief executive Neil Renilson said: "We are very supportive of any and all steps taken to enforce the bus lanes. There’s no point in painting the road a different colour if the rules are not enforced.
"Clearly cameras are more effective enforcement because it provides 24-7 enforcement. London has already fitted cameras on buses and there is no reason why the same scheme shouldn’t be extended to Edinburgh."
But the AA said it did not believe there was widespread misuse of bus lanes. "We don’t think we have the same problems as London," said the spokeswoman. "This is a hammer to crack a nut."
The spokeswoman also said if the cameras are going to be introduced, money from fines must be channelled back into traffic improvements, adding "it must not be used to replace money the Government has given to the council for transport".
The council spokesman said a decision had yet to be made on whether the authority would take the option of decriminalising driving in bus lanes, allowing the city to set the fine and take the revenue, or leave it as a criminal offence, as Aberdeen has done, in which case the Executive would fix the fine and the money would go to the courts.
SO let me get this straight..
We, as taxpayers, pay for all these roads to be built to that we can get around; pay for all these f@cking councillors to look after things for us and make sure they run smoothly, and the best they can come up with is to use more of OUR money so that they can put a system in to fine US for using the roads that WE paid for????
What a f@cking disaster this country is turning into.
We, as taxpayers, pay for all these roads to be built to that we can get around; pay for all these f@cking councillors to look after things for us and make sure they run smoothly, and the best they can come up with is to use more of OUR money so that they can put a system in to fine US for using the roads that WE paid for????
What a f@cking disaster this country is turning into.
What annoys me about all this is that there are certain junctions where due to bad layout of the bus lanes at rush hour every single driver is in the bus lane. If you follow the letter of the law, and do not drive in it, you then have to force your way in to a stationary line of traffic,when the bus lane ends, which creates bad feeling amongst other drivers.
mcflurry said:
I agree with these penalties. The bus lanes are for buses, not for people to park in "just for 5 mins".
Unfortunately the problem is in the enforcement, not the theory...
Never seen inappropriate parking in bus lanes in Edinburgh.
The problem I see in Edinbrugh with the ever increaing bus lanes is the taking of half the road space away from most traffic so all the traffic except buses is squeezed into one lane where there were previously two or three lanes congestion is happening all day where previouly there were only minor problems at rush hour. The council then come along and say "Ooh, look at all this nasty congestion. Better introduce congestion charges eh!"
"Ooh and bus lane cameras for the cheats"
Half the fecking bypass will be bas lane before long!
kerching!
RedTeg said:
I agree with these penalties. The bus lanes are for buses, not for people to park in "just for 5 mins".
Unfortunately the problem is in the enforcement, not the theory...
Never seen inappropriate parking in bus lanes in Edinburgh.
The problem I see in Edinbrugh with the ever increaing bus lanes is the taking of half the road space away from most traffic so all the traffic except buses is squeezed into one lane where there were previously two or three lanes congestion is happening all day where previouly there were only minor problems at rush hour. The council then come along and say "Ooh, look at all this nasty congestion. Better introduce congestion charges eh!"
"Ooh and bus lane cameras for the cheats"
Half the fecking bypass will be bas lane before long!
kerching!
Too true, you also get lots of pathetic 100 yard long stretches of bus lane which do nothing to help the buses at all, but cause extra confusion and congestion for everybody else.
gshughes said:
Too true, you also get lots of pathetic 100 yard long stretches of bus lane which do nothing to help the buses at all, but cause extra confusion and congestion for everybody else.
That's why I said "Unfortunately the problem is in the enforcement, not the theory...". My point was the buses need to flow freely, not that 100 yard sections be put up..
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