A COURIER delivering medical supplies to hospitals is fuming after being hit four times in a week with £60 bus lane fines – despite driving at midnight.
Dave Durnan is seething over the £240 of fines which he picked up on journeys from Edinburgh to Glasgow’s Gartnavel General Hospital.
Dave, a driver with Eagle Couriers, normally drives in Edinburgh where bus lanes become a free-for-all after 6.30pm.
The driver from Musselburgh, East Lothian, insists he saw no signs warning about the 24-hour bus lane policy.
Dave picked up all four fines in Maryhill Road in late September while driving between 11.40pm and 12.30am.
He seethed: “It seems like a deliberate attempt to catch out drivers.
“Glasgow is known for being hospitable and friendly but this policy suggests otherwise.
“Close to Maryhill Road, there are other bus lane signs indicating clear times of operation for drivers so I fail to understand why these details are missing on the stretch of road where I was caught out.”
He added: “Seeing as I was fined on more than one occasion, I’m puzzled as to why someone at the council didn’t make contact to let them know of my error, instead of allowing it to happen multiple times and issuing me with hefty fines.
“Funnily enough, I’ve never spotted a bus in that bus lane over the three weeks I’ve been doing the night shift.”
Eagle Couriers director Jerry Stewart, who runs the biggest independent courier firm in Scotland with a fleet of 100 vehicles, said: “I’m from Glasgow and I can’t tell you how disappointed I am by this.
“In Edinburgh, there is total transparency for motorists. You know when and if you can travel on certain roads if they have bus lanes.
“However, in Glasgow, that doesn’t exist which is punishing drivers like Dave who aren’t in the know and get hit with fines.”
Last month it was revealed a single bus lane camera was responsible for almost a quarter of all bus lane fines in Glasgow.
The Glasford Street camera has clocked up more than £1.2million in fines.
In May last year Edinburgh council scrapped thousands of bus lane fines after drivers crossing the road to go into their driveways were ticketed.
Glasgow council dismissed claims that signage on Maryhill Road was unclear, saying there are clear and constant reminders.
A spokesman said: “It is important that we continue working to ensure public transport services are given priority.
“The majority of drivers respect this as demonstrated by a 58 per cent drop in the number of offences in the first year of bus lane enforcement.
“Any driver who wishes to appeal their penalty charge can do so by following the appeals process on the back of the penalty notice.”
