£222,000 has already been refunded by Bath and North East Somerset Council to motorists caught in the controversial Dorchester Street bus gate, it has been revealed.
The Council announced on 30th April that they would be refunding thousands of fines given to motorists who had driven through the bus gate during their trial period.
The leader of the Council, Paul Crossley, said that signs put in place to warn drivers of the restrictions on Dorchester Street weren’t clear enough.
The announcement was made during a live radio interview on BBC Radio Bristol, just hours after the authority indicated that it would only be cancelling fines for people caught breaching the bus gate multiple times.
The decision by the Council came after a huge public backlash against the bus gate, including a public petition which received over 3,000 signatures and a Facebook Group calling for the fines to be cancelled gaining over 4,000 followers.
Since the start of the bus gate trial in January, 7,225 Penalty Charge Notices had been issued to motorists who’d driven along Dorchester Street.
There are still 80 fines outstanding that the Council are to pay back, but it’s believed they are being processed for the refund.
The fines were for £60, though the charge was reduced to £30 if paid within a fortnight.
Following the announcement that refunds would be given, the Council ended the Dorchester Street trial and all remaining signage was taken down on 6th May.
