Call For Scrapping Of Dorchester Street Bus Gate

A transport charity has told the BBC that the new bus gate on Dorchester Street in Bath should be scrapped after it was revealed the Council made £250,000 in fines in just four weeks.

Signs are in place on James Street West warning drivers of the new bus gate

The RAC Foundation spoke to the BBC yesterday after Points West’s Ali Vowles reported on the amount of fines that are being accumulated by local residents and visiting tourists.

Figures released by Bath and North East Somerset Council have shown that during the last fortnight of March, 6,741 fixed penalty notices were issued to drivers who travelled eastbound along Dorchester Street.

The eastbound side of the road has been part of the new bus gate trial since the middle of January.

The figures released show that over 60 people per hour were caught by the Council’s cameras while travelling along the restricted route, between the hours of 10am and 6pm.

New warning signs are to be installed on the approach to the bus gate in the next few weeks.

Local residents have said that the Council haven’t done enough to make people aware of the restrictions along Dorchester Street.

The RAC Foundation told the BBC that they believe the bus gate trial should be scrapped.

Jo Abbot, a spokesperson for the RAC Foundation, said: “This signage is having no impact and you can tell that from the number of penalty tickets that have been issued.

“Motorists aren’t just awkward, they don’t set out in the morning to try and get a £60 penalty ticket, quite the reverse.

“I think the majority of motorists try to obey the Highway Code but in this case they really can’t see what they are supposed to be doing.”

The Council published the following statement on their website: “Although at an early stage, the traffic restriction experiment appears to be having a positive effect on Dorchester Street with far fewer vehicles on the road between 10am – 6pm creating a safer, more welcoming environment for people on foot and who use bicycles.

“It is the responsibility of drivers to ensure they do not infringe the bus lane rules. We want drivers to abide by them and give extensive information on our website about bus lane enforcement.

“The money raised from Penalty Charge Notices is used to cover the costs of enforcing the bus lane rules and is also used to contribute towards transport services which benefit the community, such as community transport for older and disabled people, free off-peak bus travel for the over-60s, and our funding for bus services that otherwise wouldn’t operate commercially.”

You can read more about the traffic restriction and find answers to questions you may have on the Council website here.