Town's bus lane fine hotspot after flyover closure
BBCA bus lane has become a town's fine hotspot, with penalties spiking since the closure of a major flyover.
There were 10,241 penalty charge notices issued to drivers breaching the High West Street bus gate restrictions in Gateshead between April 2024 and the 31 March, compared with 6,708 the previous year.
The A167 Gateshead flyover was shut in December after an inspection found it was unsafe for traffic.
Gateshead Council faced calls earlier this month to make the bus lane more obvious for motorists, with more people who are unfamiliar with the roads now using the route due to the closure, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.
Gateshead Council has been contacted for comment.
In figures obtained under a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the LDRS, the council's penalty charge notice income from the route jumped from £212,865 to £310,275.
The High West Street bus route generated more fines, and more income for the council, in 2024/25 than the bus lanes on Askew Road and South Shore Road.
Gateshead Council said 38,145 motorists were caught out driving on Askew Road over 12 months from December 2020.
The number of bus lane fines in Askew Road fell from 11,715 to 9,231 between 2023/34 and 2024/25.
There was also a fall in the number of penalties on the South Shore Road bus lane at the Quayside, from 10,763 to 9,197.
LDRSGateshead Council said earlier this month that the regulations around High West Street had not changed since December and after the flyover closure, it said it "ensured a full signposted diversion route was put in place",
The council said it "communicated the flyover closure to drivers in a comprehensive manner, and the vast majority of drivers have used the diversion routes we recommended".
"We are happy to reinforce our previous messaging around bus priority, to ensure drivers are aware of routes where they are not allowed to drive," it added.