FINES totalling more than £1million have been issued to motorists by Aberdeen City Council in the first six months of bus lane enforcement.
Figures released yesterday revealed that drivers have been hit with 16,801 penalty notices from late March up to the end of September.
The charge for flouting the law in the car-free zones is £60, which means the potential cost to drivers breaks down to about £168,000 a month or £5,600 a day.
Money collected pays for the operation and maintenance of the system, with surplus revenues going into a pot to pay for local transport schemes and general road maintenance.
A spokesman for the AA said north-east motorists may “wonder what they are paying council tax for” if the cash is used to repair potholes.
The city council has stressed the initiative is not a money-generating scheme, however.
A spokeswoman said most fines are paid within a 14-day period, which cuts the penalty charge to £30. An estimated £350,000 has been collected since March, she added.
Finance convener Willie Young insisted the policy was not a tax on motorists, but was designed to speed up bus and taxi travel times.
He said: “The first thing to say is that money from fines is ploughed straight back into infrastructure and transport improvements. Secondly, we have to keep the buses and taxis moving.
“Sometimes, we need to take these type of measures to make sure that the city does not grind to a halt.”
The AA spokesman said: “My primary concern is that it can cast a city in a very bad light for visitors that they can very easily find themselves hit with a fine, which could ruin their stay in and impressions of Aberdeen.
“Drivers may also leave it too late to get out of the way of an emergency vehicle for fear of picking up a fine.”
Local authorities were granted power to police the zones last year following changes to legislation agreed by the Scottish Government.
Some vehicles are exempt from the ban, including taxis, private-hire cars, bicycles and emergency service vehicles, but only if they are responding to a call.
In Aberdeen, there are 11 cameras in place – four in King Street, two in Holburn Street and one each in Wellington Road, Lang Stracht, North Donside Road, Great Northern Road and Auchmill Road.
Mobile cameras are also used where concerns are raised over the illegal use of the lanes.
City wardens have been spotted monitoring traffic near the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre at the Bridge of Don.
Most bus lanes in the city operate during peak times, which are classed as 7.30am to 9.30am and 4pm to 6pm Monday to Saturday.
In Auchmill Road, the cameras are in use 24/7, while in Union Street the hours are 8am to 9.30am, 12.30pm to 2.30pm and 4.30pm to 6pm Monday to Saturday. Outwith these times, all vehicles can use the bus lanes.
One English council has suspended bus lane enforcement for nine months after the mayor argued the system does not work.
Cameras in Liverpool were turned off earlier this week in an experiment to study the impact on traffic flow.
But fears have been raised by bus operators that the move will lead to a drop in the number of people using public transport and cause more congestion.