ok, you get fined for speeding etc, but a hundred quid fine for using the bus lanes?
If they insist that cameras are there for safety and not to rake up money for the local councils, then why dont they donate the money made from speeding fines/bus lanes etc to something like the air ambulance who have to attend road accidents all the time?
That way, itll still prevent people from getting them in the first place if they dont want points or fines, but at least if they get a fine for doing something wrong, they can admit they did something wrong, and know the money will go to charity instead of the pockets of the council?
Theyre response will be that the fines help to maintain the cameras, but theres only a certain amount of maintanence that needs done, where does the rest of it go?
maybe we should think about starting to circulate this idea, in fact maybe Matt could try and get someone in from the council or whatever on podcast and ask them this very question?
In fact Matt already did that! In one of our Podcasts he approaches the subject and had an interview with the Motorcycle industry representative enquiring about motorcycles using the bus lanes.
This is a very hard subject to deal with but LB is ready to back up any productive action from the community
oops, must have missed that one
it’s on the third or fourth one!
Steve, that’s a great topic for discussion. Cezar, don’t confuse the bus-lanes issue with the general topic of discussion regarding speeding and other infringement camera revenue being used for ‘good’. It would be great if we could speak to someone from TfL about this.
Err, they don’t claim bus lane cameras are for safety, they’re there to keep the lanes clear of other traffic.
Ken Livingstone was asked about what was happening re bikes in bus lanes a few days ago on the radio, he said there’ll be a decision by the end of the year.
I’m not confusing, I understood that we are talking about the £100,00 fine for the bus lanes and this issue is being takled and a decision will come soon! The revenue usage of spped camera is another matter of a different kind.
Very important though and should be watched closely!
You get fined more for using a bus lane than a mobile whilst driving!!
I think all traffic fines could come under this discussion on how to use the revenue.
Well I can start then:
Last night on my way way home I hit a huge path hole, I have no idea how I didn’t fall off the bike. It’s unacceptable to have a hole like that on the road near my house when my concil tax is 2k a year!
this is thing Cezar- we’re paying loads in council tax, for lousy roads, loads in fines when you use a bus lane, so where is this money all going?
If they insist it aint going into theyre pockets, then it should be given to charity. Like i said, it would also take the sting out of emptying your walet if you knew the money might go towards something that might save your life one day, esp as they dont use it to fix the roads!
UNLESS they use the money to maintain the bus lanes themselves, in which case it still is un reasonable if we aint allowed to use them.
Even IF TFL agree bikes can use the bus lanes, cars cant so theres surely still a valid point on the money being donated to charity.
The average Gatso costs around 40 grand, but some of them are raking in well over a hundred grand in fines, so even if they have to replace the WHOLE camera once or twice, where does the rest go?
AIUI the bus lane ones within London go into the TFL pot along with the congestion charge (if it ever makes a profit) to help fund public transport.
The GATSO revenues pay for the admin & servicing costs, replacing burnt out ones 
etc. The money left over is ring-fenced to be spent on road safety measures, this can include anything from building speed humps, ped crossings, installing more cameras & the like, but it also pays for safety campaigns like those ‘think bike’ adverts that have been running on the TV recently & the very good Bikesafe training courses run by plod.
So where does all the revenue from road and fuel tax go then?
Into the the treasury’s general tax coffers, same place it’s always gone.
Yeah we discussed this in podcast 3 - tfl refused a request for interview - but the Motorcycle Industry Association can in - or rather phoned in - and we interviewd them - it’s right at the start of the podcast - it’s something I want to return to at some point - but tfl and the councils don’t want to talk about it - may chat to mini mo about the BMF angle.
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Complain about it! There’s a general website for road problems (though I can’t remember where, someone on here will) and my local council has a page on their site for exactly that. I used it a few months back about a dangerous sunken manhole cover near where I live and they had it filled in within a few days. Their problem is they are responsible if you come off because of it and don’t want the liability.
