Jacob Rees-Mogg says councils 'abuse' drivers through bus lane fines
Jacob Rees-Mogg accuses councils of ‘abusing’ motorists by looking to make easy profits from 24-hour bus lanes – after Harrow made £442,000 from fines along one 39ft-stretch of road
- Councils are profiting from motorists’ fines in 24-hour bus lanes, MPs said today
- Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg raised case of ‘smallest bus lane in London’
- A 39ft long road in Harrow, northwest London, led to £442,000 in fines last year
- MP Bob Blackman asked why bus lanes operate all hours rather than peak times
Motorists are being ‘abused’ by councils seeking to make easy profits from 24-hour bus lanes, according to furious MPs.
Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg made the claim as the case of the ‘smallest bus lane in London’ was raised in the House.
MPs heard the section of Northolt Road, South Harrow, in north-west London, is 39ft long and has generated hundreds of thousands of pounds in fines.
Conservative MP Bob Blackman, who represents Harrow East, questioned why so many bus lanes operate all hours rather than just at peak times.
He said: ‘Recently there has been a case in my neighbouring constituency where we have the smallest bus lane in London. It’s 39ft long.
‘But over the last year 7,800 motorists have been fined for going in this bus lane, which is seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and the Harrow Council has got £442,363 in fines.
Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg made the claim as the case of the ‘smallest bus lane in London’ was raised in the House
A 39ft bus lane in Northolt Road, South Harrow, generated £442,363.36 in fines after catching 7,854 drivers between April 2019 and the end of December 2021
‘Not only is this a small bus lane, but its adjacent to a lane that is only required during peak hours.
‘So could we have a debate in Government time on bus lanes and indeed the signage that is provided on bus lanes that seems to be a way of milking the motorist rather than allowing people to travel properly?’
Mr Rees-Mogg replied: ‘I’m in entire agreement with (Mr Blackman) and it’s noticeable under the provisions for Covid an awful lot of bus lanes seem to have gone from being set times to 24 hours a day, even when they’re not being used for a large chunk of the day.
‘But what he tells me about 7,800 fines for the 39ft of bus lane raising over £442,000 is a swindle.
‘Once again, the poor, hard-pressed motorist is being abused by councils who just dislike motoring.’
He described the Conservatives as the ‘party of the motorist’, adding: ‘Bus lanes serve a role during peak hours, but to make them 24 hours just to turn them into a milch cow seems to me quite wrong.’
News broke yesterday about Harrow Council’s £442,000 profit from Northolt Road fines after a Freedom of Information request was made by pensioner Geoffrey Ben-Nathan, 77, who had himself been fined for driving along the road.
The figures were obtained by Geoffrey Ben-Nathan (pictured), 77, a driver who submitted a freedom of information (FOI) request to Harrow Council after he managed to overturn his own fine on that stretch of the road
Geoffrey Ben-Nathan, 77, who was fined after driving into the 39ft (12-metre) section of the bus lane which has a 24/7 restriction, argued the rules were ‘unclear’
Mr Ben-Nathan was fined after driving into the 39ft section of the bus lane which has a 24/7 restriction.
The grandfather who has said the stretch of road ‘must be the smallest bus lane in London,’ argued the rules were ‘unclear’ as the rest of the restrictions along the same route only applied at certain times of the day.
He called on the council to either remove the section of 24 hour restrictions or to implement signs making it clearer to other drivers after claiming there is ‘no prescriptive warning sign directing the motorist to change lanes’.
Harrow Council disputed his view, however, saying ‘we believe that the signage here is clear’.
The case was taken to a tribunal where adjudicators ruled in his favour, after Mr Ben-Nathan, who himself measured the small stretch of the bus lane, gave other examples of drivers being caught out driving on the small section of road.
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