Item 7BUS LANE CAMERA ENFORCEMENTPurpose of Report
The purpose of the report is to seek Committee’s approval to prepare a business case to
support an application to the Scottish Government for a decriminalised bus lane
enforcement system for Glasgow.
Recommendation
Committee is asked to:
i) Approve the preparation and submission of a business case to the Scottish
Government for a decriminalised bus lane enforcement system for Glasgow with, if
considered appropriate, an application to Scottish Ministers to promote the
necessary secondary legislation.
Background
Glasgow City Council has, in partnership with First Glasgow, been successful in delivering over £30m
of investment in recent years to improve public transport in the City through the Quality Bus
Corridor/Streamline programme. This award winning programme has achieved a marked
improvement in the quality of facilities and operating conditions for buses throughout the City. A
further outcome of this programme has been the signing of the groundbreaking ‘Stability and Growth
Pact’ with First Glasgow.
The Council, through its Local Transport Strategy, is committed to building on the improvements that
have already been achieved in order to ensure that the quality of bus services in the City continues to
improve and that maximum benefits can be derived from the considerable investment that has already
been made.
To this end, Land & Environmental Services is in discussions with the Scottish Government and other
key stakeholders on a number of fronts with the aim of further improving operating conditions for bus
services, with the potential additional benefits of improved air quality in the City Centre. Success has
already been achieved in promoting a Traffic Regulation Condition to regulate the use of bus stops
within the City, which has seen a marked reduction in abuse of bus stop layovers. Work is also
underway in scoping a statutory Quality Partnership Scheme, a principal objective of which will be to
ensure that the quality of buses operated in Glasgow City Centre is raised so that all bus operators
are obliged to meet the Council’s objectives for public transport and air quality in return for the use of
enhanced facilities provided by the Council.
If the full benefits of the continuing investment in bus facilities are to be realised, it is important that
the facilities provided are used, and seen to be used, to their maximum efficiency. One of the issues
that requires to be addressed is the current abuse of bus lanes by vehicles not permitted to use them.
In order to address this, it is proposed that a business case is prepared for submission to the Scottish
Government to provide the Council with the powers to enforce the abuse of bus lanes.
Proposals
The Council’s approved Local Transport Strategy contains an action (PTA4) to “Review camera
enforcement for bus lane violation and seek regulation to enable enforcement to take place by GCC”.
In addition, the Council and SPT have signed a “New Stability & Growth Pact” with bus operator First
which also requires this avenue to be pursued.
Currently in Glasgow, moving vehicle offences in bus lanes are criminal offences and are enforced by
Strathclyde Police. Such moving vehicle abuse of bus lanes is not currently viewed as a cause of
major delays to public transport or general traffic in Glasgow and, therefore, is not given priority for
allocation of Police resources. There are, however, a number of locations where it is considered that
greater enforcement of bus lane abuse would lead to fewer delays to buses. It is also a significant
issue in terms of the perceived effectiveness of public transport priority measures, with many
complaints received that bus lanes are not being enforced.
The introduction of decriminalised bus lane enforcement is enabled under the Transport (Scotland)
Act 2001. To allow decriminalised bus lane enforcement, Scottish Ministers must designate the City
as a decriminalised enforcement area under the Act. Existing Traffic Regulation Orders must also be
amended to reflect the change in enforcing authority and Scottish Ministers must approve the
enforcement devices that will be used.
The Scottish Government requires a full business case to be submitted before it will promote the
necessary regulations.
An initial study of the options available for implementing such a system in Glasgow concluded that the
level of income likely to be obtained from Penalty Charge Notices would not cover the costs of
operating a system installed for this purpose on its own and that the most affordable system would be
based on use of CCTV with the notice processing system being undertaken as an enhancement of
the existing decriminalised on-street parking operations.
With regard to any income from Penalty Charge Notices, any sums paid by way of charges to an
approved local authority may only be used in relation to achievement of policies in the Authority’s
Local Transport Strategy (Section 44 of the Act). Income may, therefore, be used to fund the
enforcement system. It is possible that income from enforcement may not meet the costs of the
system although benefits will be realised through enhanced operation and perception of the city’s
public transport system.
Officers have commenced discussion with the Scottish Government on their requirements for a
business case and the process that follows. Indications are that, following the acceptance of a
business case, it is likely that they will require at least a year to promote the secondary legislation
necessary. Should it be decided to proceed with decriminalised enforcement then the appropriate
regulations and systems could be in place in 2009 at the earliest. Liaison on implementation is also
taking place with council officers in Aberdeen and Edinburgh who are in a similar position with regard
to this issue.
As an early action, surveys have recently been undertaken to determine the current level of violation
of existing bus lanes and initial consultations have been undertaken with the Police and other key
stakeholders. This information will be used in the preparation of the business case should this be
taken forward.
Recommendations
Committee is asked to:
i) Approve the preparation and submission of a business case to the Scottish Government for a
decriminalised bus lane enforcement system for Glasgow with, in light of a demonstrable business
case being established, an application to Scottish Ministers to promote the necessary secondary
legislation.
SERVICE IMPLICATIONS
Financial: £20k has been secured from SPT 07/08 feasibility studies funding to enable
surveys of current infringements and examination of the business case. A
further report will be submitted regarding the cost of implementation.
Legal: No implications for development of business case.
Personnel: None.
Service Plan: Action PTA4 in approved Local Transport Strategy.
Environmental: Bus lane camera enforcement would support the Council's sustainable
transport policies.
ROBERT BOOTH
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
30 November 2007