Bus lane fines 'unfair tax on drivers'

Receptionist Pamela Carlisle says for safety reasons she continued in the Symonds Street bus lane. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Auckland's controversial bus lane enforcement regime has been attacked by a city council committee chairman who is among tens of thousands of motorists stung by infringement notices.

Greg Moyle, chairman of the council's arts, culture and recreation committee, yesterday condemned the issuing of notices to drivers using bus lanes before making left turns as simply "revenue gathering".

"I just see it as an unwarranted and unfair tax on motorists who are not driving unsafely, but are exercising a bit of commonsense," he said.

"If I'm going to turn left at the next intersection, I'm better if the way is clear to move to the left earlier rather than later, and not create a potential traffic hazard by doing some sort of swift movement from centre to left.

"I understand the need to give priority to bus lanes, but surely traffic safety should take precedence and having people stay in the middle lane then suddenly veer left to turn down a road like Grafton Rd [off Symonds St] is just lunacy."

Mr Moyle said that if people used bus lanes inappropriately to steal a march on fellow drivers, they deserved to be fined. But he said that after turning right into Symonds St from Waterloo Quadrant about a month ago, and seeing his way clear in the southbound bus lane, he moved into it to make a left turn into Grafton Rd.

Other drivers have written to the Herald complaining of being stung for performing the same manoeuvre, although one said a kerbside enforcement camera stationed north of the intersection almost daily for weeks had disappeared since an item about the bus lanes a fortnight ago by Fair Go.

Although car drivers are allowed to travel for up to 50 metres in bus lanes before making left turns, the programme found in a street survey that few people were able to judge how far that was, and called for warning signs.

The council has faced an angry public backlash in recent days over its disclosure that it issued $4.2 million of infringement notices over 12 months to drivers filmed in breach of bus lane regulations.

Mr Moyle said he had written to the council challenging his $150 infringement notice, and urged others in similar situations to do likewise.

Council parking group manager Dale Clements said it would be inappropriate to comment on individual cases but the city had not changed the way it dealt with bus lanes.

City transport committee chairman Ken Baguley said anybody who felt they had been unfairly dealt with should ask to see video footage of their movements in bus lanes, but he said the council was obliged to follow regulations imposed nationally by the Transport Agency, which restricted the turning tolerance zone to 50m.

"I said [to Mr Moyle], 'you just ask for the video', but I'm certainly not going to step in, he'll have to fight it on the merits of his own case."

But he acknowledged that wide variations in bus lane signs could confuse motorists, and said his committee had asked staff to review these.

Mr Moyle said he was not trying to ask for special treatment, but was exercising the right of all motorists to challenge infringement notices.

Transport Agency spokesman Ewart Barnsley said there were no plans to review the regulations.

CASE 1

Receptionist Pamela Carlisle, was issued with a $150 infringement notice for using Symonds St northbound bus lane on June 22. She is seeking a court fixture to challenge the notice.

Ms Carlisle turned left into Symonds St from an off-street company carpark. She says she crossed the 4.5m bus lane to reach the general vehicle lane, as required by law, but returned to the bus lane after travelling about 30m, to position her car for a left turn into Mount St. Had she managed to make the turn, after travelling about 20m along the bus lane, she would have remained within a 50m tolerance zone and avoided a fine. But she says because a bus was close behind her, it would have been unsafe to slow down to turn left, so she was forced to continue down Symonds St to the Wellesley St intersection. Traffic in the general lane was too heavy for her to return to it without stopping and blocking the bus behind her.

Ms Carlisle says two of her colleagues have been sent infringement notices for travelling 76m down Symonds St in the bus lane after turning left from Wakefield St to reach an underground carparking area, rather than making a wide and difficult arc via the general traffic lane. Five staff members from another firm in her building have also received infringement notices for movements in or out of the parking area.

CASE 2

Teacher Francesca Herring was issued with a $150 infringement notice for using Symonds St southbound bus lane on April 23, before turning left into Grafton Rd. She has written a letter of complaint to the city council but has been turned down. She has yet to decide whether to take it further.

Ms Herring says she dropped her partner, Auckland University student and tutor Ben Bartle, at a loading bay about 70m north of the Symonds St-Grafton Rd intersection so he could unload teaching equipment.

She says traffic was packed in Symonds St, so instead of trying to cross the bus lane from the loading bay to use about 20m of the general vehicle lane before crossing back to turn left into Grafton Rd, she decided it would be safer and less disruptive to drivers to travel the distance in the bus lane, behind three buses.

"In my opinion I chose the safest option, which was to follow along the lane instead of swerving in and out twice and potentially blocking the entire bus lane," she said.

"Yet I am now being forced to pay $150."

Mr Bartle said he suspected council enforcement officers of deliberately targeting limited-income students in this area.