Driver shocked by arrival of $600 worth of fines

Anil Chandra was ticket four times in a week for using a Symonds Street bus lane. Photo / Dean Purcell

Anil Chandra was stunned when he checked his mail and found $600 worth of fines for briefly using a bus lane on the way to work in Newmarket.

The Auckland City Council infringement notices came in the first week of its ban against traffic travelling for more than 50m in the special lane on Symonds St near Auckland University.

"I was ticketed four times in the week after dropping my wife off at work at the university, though I have to turn left into Grafton Rd.

"I didn't realise I was pinged because I was a couple of days late checking the mail. I thought, gee, that's exorbitant for that infringement.

"It's a short stretch between Alten Rd and Grafton Rd and I was filmed in the lane at 71m.

"This can feel like 50m when driving and also trying to negotiate traffic and pedestrians who constantly dart across the road.

"This was my first infringement ... it was a huge shock to me.

"The infringement notices should be issued to only those who break the law for their own advantage rather than those, like myself, who have a genuine need to use them to make a left turn, and at no time have used it to beat traffic queues."

Mr Chandra complained that the road was not marked to indicate 50m from the intersection to change lanes to turn left.

He wrote in to the council to request a waiver of the fines and said he was astounded that it would not accept his point that it was unsafe to change lanes at the 50m mark.

He wrote into the council asking for the four fines to be waived or reduced to one. Three of the fines were waived because the council felt he had not been aware that he had been ticketed.

"But I still had to pay $150 - a month's electricity."

He said the fear of travelling in bus lanes had caused chaos on Symonds St, with queues of cars waiting 50m from the intersection and queues to go straight ahead.

"People are getting highly frustrated and there's a lot of tooting going on."