More than 150 drivers every DAY are fined for driving into the new Portland Street bus lane

More than 150 motorists a DAY have been caught out by a new bus lane in the city centre. Between April 4 and July 22 this year, 16,638 penalty charge notices were issued for drivers who ended up in the Portland Street bus lane. That’s an average of 152 a day or more than a thousand a week.

Each driver would have received a penalty notice for a £60 fine - reduced to £30 if paid withing 14 days. That means Manchester council could receive at least £499,140, if each driver paid the minimum and didn’t successfully appeal. Liz Bracken, 70, is among the motorists who have been caught out with a fine. She said: “This is excessive, and it seems to me to be a money-making ploy at the expense of motorists.” Liz, of Crumpsall, was driving her VW Polo on July 17 to get to Portland Street. She drove down Newton street and reached a sign saying she couldn’t continue on to Portland Street. So she turned left to find a diversion - and couldn’t.

The start of the new bus lane on Portland Street

She said: “I ended up turning round and driving on to Portland Street because I needed to get to the hotel where my son and grandchildren were staying. “Where are the signs telling you how to get on to Portland Street without driving in the bus lane?

“I wrote to the penalties office asking why no alternative route is signposted but despite a lengthy response this particular question was not answered.” She added: “Manchester is now a nightmare to navigate. To close off a main route without any indication of a alternative one seems to me to be irresponsible in the least.

“I’ve been driving through Manchester for 50 years and found it confusing - what about first time visitors or tourists - how are they going to manage it?”

Part of a £1bn city centre travel investment, a section of Portland Street was shut to regular traffic in March as part of a new cross-city bus route. With new toucan crossings and cycle lanes, a small section of the road, between Minshull Street and Aytoun Street, is accessible only to buses, taxis, bikes and emergency vehicles.

Councillor Rosa Battle, Manchester council’s executive member for environment, said the vast majority of drivers were complying with the changes on Portland Street and the scheme had maintained access for drivers to park in the city centre and improved bus journey times.

She added: “The bus gate is enforced to make sure buses - the most widely used form of public transport across the city - can move effectively and is well signed with diversionary routes. "To be clear, any revenue made from penalty notices cannot be used to support general council budgets and can only be used to improve Manchester’s highways.”