MORE than 3,000 drivers have been fined in just two months for using a controversial bus lane in Bury.

A total of 3,457 penalty charge notices were issued by Bury Council between October 4 and November 30 to motorists using the lane in Bolton Road, heading towards Bury town centre.

Of all the fines, 72 per cent — 2,498 — were given to drivers caught using the end of the lane, around Ainsworth Road. The bus lane restrictions will cost £105,000 annually to police and have so far raised £74,000.

As previously reported, the council introduced a CCTV Smart car in October to film motorists using bus lanes during restricted hours.

It coincided with an extension of the times that the bus lane in Bolton Road is in operation.

But the Bury Times has received numerous letters from drivers issued with fines, with many complaining that the volume of traffic made it difficult for them to move out of the lane during rush hour.

The figures were revealed at last Wednesday’s full council meeting, held at Bury Town Hall, following questions from Church councillor Roy Walker.

He said: “This is the biggest and most contentious issue in our ward for a long time. There are many complaints about it.

“Given the size of the income and the fines raised by the honey trap at the bottom of Bolton Road, it is going to be difficult for any council leader to reverse this attack on residents who are travelling down the main road to work.”

Councillor Dorothy Gunther, cabinet member for environment and transport, said: “We have spoken to a number of people travelling from Bolton to Bury about this. Some of them have expressed some difficulty and some have expressed no difficulty whatsoever.

“I did intend to do the trip myself to be in a better position to assess the difficulties, but because of the bad weather, I have not been able to do that. I do still intend to drive along the road in the peak time.”

l—Anyone caught using the bus lane could be issued with a penalty charge notice of £60, discounted to £30 if paid within 14 days.

The bus lane in Bolton Road is in force from Monday to Friday, 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm.