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More than 6000 tickets totalling almost $1m were issued for illegal bus-lane use in Tauranga last year - including to one “indignant” driver who has spoken out after being fined $150 for entering a Hewletts Rd bus lane too early.
Figures provided to the Bay of Plenty Times show 6522 tickets totalling $978,300 were issued to motorists in breach of the 50m entry rule for city bus lanes.
For Hewletts Rd, 3116 tickets worth a total of $467,400 were handed out in 2024 compared to 4465 tickets and $669,750 worth of fines in 2023. At least 300 tickets totalling $45,000 have been issued so far this year for that road.
The council says all drivers are expected to know the rules.
A CCTV camera image of Whakatāne resident Ann Petersen turning out of a bus lane on Hewletts Rd, Mount Maunganui, on December 11, 2024. Petersen was caught entering the lane in breach of the 50m rule. The broken white line shows where she should have entered.
One “indignant” driver fined $150 for entering a Hewletts Rd bus lane in breach of the 50m entry rule on December 11 last year contacted the Bay of Plenty Times after her bid to have the ticket waived failed.
Whakatāne woman Ann Petersen said she wanted to warn others to prevent them from making the “same costly mistake”.
Petersen said she was driving to Tauranga Airport to fly to Perth to visit family and made a left turn onto Jean Batten Dr.
She thought nothing of it until she received the $150 Tauranga City Council infringement notice that stated she had entered the bus lane about 150m or more by the Z service station.
Whakatāne resident Ann Petersen's car (at the top of the long white arrow) entered the Hewletts Rd bus lane too early on December 11.
Petersen said she felt a “bit indignant” as she did not know about the 50m regulation.
“Living in Whakatāne, there are no bus lanes to contend with and my costly transgression was completely inadvertent.”
It was a “one-off transgression” as she had used that bus lane heading to Tauranga Airport many times before.
“I’m not whinging about paying the fine, but I was unaware of this regulation and so were a bunch of other drivers in my community.”
The 50m entry mark was also “very close” to the Hewletts Rd and Jean Batten Dr intersection.
“I had turned into the bus lane after seeing another motorist doing the same and this transgression was committed during heavy peak traffic. I also checked first there were no buses behind me ...”
Petersen used the Official Information Act to obtain infringement figures and was shocked to learn hers was one of 854 fines the council issued for the same bus lane in the six months to January 20 this year. The total value of the tickets was $128,000.
“That’s a huge number of drivers and fines collected. I think there needs to be an education programme to promote and ensure unwitting drivers don’t break this rule.”
Petersen asked for the ticket to be waived but the council rejected her request.
She was told in an email the broken white lines in the active lane and both green bus lane hatchings adjacent to these in the bus lane showed where she should have entered the lane if turning left.
The email also stated the council did not generally waive infringements with a warning for the Hewletts Rd bus lane unless there was a medical emergency or urgent event.
The council’s email said unauthorised vehicles were allowed to use bus lanes for no more than 50m to turn at an intersection or into a driveway, or for merging back into the main traffic lane after exiting a driveway. Signs and road markings were clear and sufficient to indicate the bus lane.
“...There is no requirement for the council to sign the 50m rule on special vehicle lanes, drivers were expected to know this rule,” the council said.
“Please note, that due to the amount of entry and exit points into the bus lane on Hewletts Rd, it is not feasible for the council to signpost all 50m points.”
“We do not expect drivers to know exactly how far 50 metres is. We are only dealing with vehicles which travel for excessive distances.”
A Mount Maunganui resident, who works in the area, said he regularly saw motorists entering this bus lane too early, including some entering it at the point they exited the nearby Z station and sometimes far earlier than that.
The resident, who spoke on the condition he was not identified, said he had seen buses and vehicles collide in the lane. He assumed the car drivers thought they had enough room.
During the interview, the Bay of Plenty Times observed drivers entering the bus lane about 200m from the broken white line entry point and saw at least 15 motorists breach the 50m rule in one hour on Friday.
Another driver turning left out of Jean Batten Dr onto Hewletts Rd headed towards the city, drove straight onto the bus lane for some distance despite a warning sign.
Council regulation monitoring team leader Stuart Goodman said the council knew it could be frustrating to receive a bus lane fine “but these are nationwide rules that all drivers in New Zealand are expected to know”.
“Special vehicle lanes are clearly marked with signage, road markings, and green surfaces, clearly setting them aside from standard traffic lanes.”
The bus-lane issue follows a Mount Maunganui couple who were upset they were fined $100 after council cameras caught them stopped partly on a Marine Parade cycle lane for “about 20 seconds” while waiting for a car park.
Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 24 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.
