The number of penalty charge notices given out to motorists in London rose by 3.8% to more than six million over the last year.
A total of 6,165,971 notices were issued for illegal parking, using bus lanes, moving traffic offences and contraventions under the London Lorry Control Scheme between 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2006, according to the Association of London Government. This compares with a total of 5,942,291 for the previous 12 months.
Transport for London, which in 2004-05 handed out just 55,976 PCN tickets, made a major contribution to the overall increase by issuing 304,305 over the equivalent 2005-06 period.
Overall, TfL issued only 155,282 bus lane PCNs compared with 272,574 over the previous year, and 137,638 fewer fines were issued to drivers in bus lanes. London boroughs issued 173,134 fewer PCNs for illegal parking and clamped 49,764 fewer vehicles, although the number taken to car pounds rose from 74,175 to 87,829.
Councillor Tariq Ahmad, deputy chairman of the ALG’s transport and environment committee, said: ‘The drop in the number of tickets issued to people illegally using London’s bus lanes is in part attributable to the use of CCTV cameras.
‘Motorists now know if they drive in a bus lane they will be seen, and will receive a fine. By keeping to the law, London keeps moving and helps everyone.’
The AA Motoring Trust has criticised some local authorities for issuing large numbers of moving traffic fines and said they had failed to take a more critical look at the road layouts and make greater allowances for drivers confused by roads with numerous restrictions.
Paul Watters, head of roads and transport policy at the AA, said: ‘Local authorities are not being forced to survey junctions and sites where moving traffic regulations are going to be enforced by CCTV.
‘They are not having to assess how traffic moves through junctions and the way drivers naturally react, whether junction layouts can cope efficiently with traffic demands, and how roads teeming with restrictions may confuse drivers who are unfamiliar with them.’