Three cameras catch 10,000 drivers in bus lanes over 14 days

Hull Council looks set to bring in the cameras which could raise a surplus of more than £250,000 a year, according to a report, which also warns that if a large number of people get fined there is the “potential for negative press coverage”. It adds that enforcement “may be perceived as a cash generating scheme which it is not intended to be”.

Fines would be £60 or £30 if paid within two weeks. But transport portfolio holder Coun Martin Mancey said law-abiding motorists had nothing to fear and the surplus would be ploughed back into the city’s underfunded road network.

In the trial in June, two automatic number-plate recognition cameras filmed 9,762 drivers in the bus lane on Anlaby Road. Another 532 motorists were caught on Beverley Road.

In the report which is being discussed on Wednesday, Coun Mancey said the trial confirmed the extent of abuse, and enforcement should help bus operators improve services to time, encouraging more people onto public transport.

But he said cameras, which are already in other major Yorkshire cities – and could go up in different sites round Hull, had to be clearly signed and publicised.

He added: “I am confident many law-abiding motorists will welcome measures to reduce the abuse carried out by that minority of selfish motorists who currently drive in bus lanes during the periods of operation.”

The report also says that for major events like City of Culture 2017 “appropriate control of bus lanes is required”. It adds revenue figures have to be treated with caution as it depends on where cameras are placed, how many are caught and how quickly they pay up.

But experience showed people paid up quicker when they were given a web link to video evidence of their offence. The set-up costs would be around £100,000 and running costs £150,000 a year.