SHOCKING stats revealed that Scots have forked out over £1m in bus gate and bus lane fines in Aberdeen in less than a year.
Figures emerged on social media yesterday exposing the massive amount of cash that careless motorists paid the council in the granite city since last April.
Across Aberdeen’s 15 bus lanes and gates – restricted areas of the city that can only be used by public service buses and other authorised vehicles – drivers are estimated to have forked out an eye-watering £1.16m.
Guild Street gate in the city centre has raked in a whopping £314,976 fines alone since just November – having been first introduced in August.
Scots have since been left fuming at the masses of money being raked in by the council in their pursuit of careless motorists, with the bus gates proving a controversial topic ever since their introduction.
A six-month consultation was held to gather views from Aberdeen locals on the bus gates in the city centre, which closed last Tuesday.
With the aim of reducing traffic and increasing public transport use in Scotland’s third-most populated city’s centre, the gates are in place on aforementioned Guild Street, Market Street, Union Street and Bridge Street.
A table of figures of ‘City-wide bus lane and gate enforcement notices issued’ was shared to social media yesterday with the caption: “I feel less bad driving through a bus gate now.”
The post quickly gained attention from shocked Scots, who flocked to vent their frustration at Aberdeen City Council.
One user said: “See that spike on Holborn Street in June, there were road works that forced you into the bus lane before the traffic lights at the Brig o’ Dee bar but enough room for you to move back before you hit the lane camera.
“I know this as they got sent a picture of me plumb in the middle of the bus lane with no visible road works. Nice to know I wasn’t the only one caught.”
Another added: “Total= £1,163,739.77 That’s a f*ing st ton of money, maybe our £5,000 per person debt will be clear.
“Maybe all of the potholes will be fixed now since that amount will easily cover it.
“Maybe we’ll get Saturday and Sunday bus services in places like Kingswells.
“Maybe we’ll get f**k [all] and our council tax bills will still rise while they claim budget cuts.”
Taking the council’s side, a third said: “Not really. Does it not amount to just under £6 per Aberdonian? Doesn’t really stretch to those sorts of scales.”
A fourth added: “That is just f***ing criminal seeing the vast amount of people being hit with these charges.
“That’s £314,000 just on Guild Street taken out of people’s pockets to spend during this cost-of-living crisis and put into the hands of the council who will spaff it up the wall on parties or expenses.”
