Hi All, When boarding my usual bus journey back from work last week, I tapped my Oyster on the Oyster card machine, it did not respond so I tried again (I had swiped correctly, with card flat against it). Prior to this, a lady in front of me had swiped her card several times and it also did not work for her - No beeps, Green or Red signals, so she went to sit down. I took her experience into account after I had tried swiping my card and informed the bus driver that the machine did not work (either she froze the machine or the machine was coincidently unresponsive for us both), he did not respond so I went to sit down (The lady and I was not stopped). About 15 minutes into my journey, a bus inspector got on, my Oyster was swiped and she informed me that my card had not been registered, I explained the incident to her and she took down my name and was asking for my address. Half way through her note-taking, I questioned whether she was issuing me with a fine. She said "No" and that it is just for "Back office checks" to see whether there is a fault with my card or the Oyster machine. I did not argue and was cooperative as I knew I was not guilty of any intentions to skip a bus fare, though I did ask whether we could check my card there and then (with every intention to pay my usual bus fare). She told me not to worry and that she would check with the bus driver. Suddenly , one of her colleagues came up to her and said they had to leave the bus at the next stop, she quickly said "Respond to the website within 21 days or you will get a fine" and handed me a folded leaflet with the website on and left. I opened up the leaflet to find a Penalty fare inside. I felt cheated as she had issued me a fare without me knowing and left the bus without checking with the bus driver as promised. I went downstairs to the bus driver and questioned him, telling him that he did not reply when I told him that the machine did not work. To this, he got defensive (I assume as he did not want to take responsibility) and said "No, no, no! I would have told you if your card had not swiped! You people do not swipe your card properly and this is what happens!" I angrily took down the bus details and went home to make a direct complaint to TFL and tried contacting IRCAS on the telephone. The number given on the IRCAS leaflet was an automated line, being frustrated not being able to get through to a real person, I decided to complain to TFL online through their CCTV and Bus Complaints links, requesting CCTV footage of the incident. I appealed to IRCAS and received a letter to say that my appeal has been turned down. This is the reason I was given: " When traveling on the bus, you must touch your Oyster card flat on the card reader on boarding the bus. It is your responsibility to touch in correctly and to check for the green light and single beep to ensure that your Oyster card has been validated. Failure to touch in correctly may result in the issue of a Penalty Fare." 1. I did touch my card correctly and swiped it twice to be sure. 2. It didn't work for the lady in front of me so I don't believe that we were both not accurate in our swipes. 3. I informed the bus driver who did not respond. 4. The bus inspector slyly issued me the penalty fare and mislead me with information. Anyone experience this kind of lousy service? The bus driver does not take notice of his passengers and the bus inspector saw me as an easy target just to fill her quota. I'm not exactly a trouble-maker but wanted to question the bus driver. I do not believe that I should be forced to pay the fine with a invalid reason that they had given me. It seems like they did not investigate the incident throughly and just sent me a letter of rejection. I have not heard back from TFL, anyone know how long (if they do) they take to get back to you? Do I have a leg to stand on if I appeal again? Please help!

Bus companies are not required by law to force parents with buggies to make way for wheelchair users in designated bays on vehicles, senior judges ruled. Read More Here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-30376446

Whilst making representations against a bus lane PCN I read through the London Local Authorities Act 1996. I came across something very interesting and I would like to put it to our experts here in the forums. In SCHEDULE 1 Paragraph 2 (4) © states the following: (4) The grounds referred to in sub-paragraph (1) above are— © that at the time the alleged breach of such order or regulations took place the recipient was not in charge of the vehicle. PATAS read this paragraph as written on their website http://www.patas.gov.uk/tmaadjudicators/grounds_buslanes.htm The person who was in control of the vehicle at the time was in control without my consent For example, the vehicle was driven in the bus lane after being stolen. No where in the Act does it say that the vehicle must have been taken without consent. I would very much appreciate if someone could enlighten me. If you read further in sub-paragraph 7 it states the following: (7)Where the ground mentioned in sub-paragraph (4)© above is relied on in any representations made under this paragraph, those representations must include a statement by the person making the representations of the name and address of the person whom he believed to be in charge of the vehicle at the time of the alleged breach of the order described in subsection (2) of the said section 4. If it was stolen how do I know the name and address of person in charge? that makes it easier for employers. If it is hidden somewhere please ignore my ignorance

I was driving into London and entered a bus lane and received a penalty. I have checked the area using google maps and street view and would like to know if I can contest it. It happened at the end of London Bridge, going north. There are two lanes going north. At the point of trouble, both lanes have white road arrows indicating "straight ahead". However the left lane then veers left and the straight ahead portion becomes a bus lane. In my case I was misled by the straight arrow thinking it is safe to go straight, and then entered the bus lane and it was too late to brake. There are no other indications that the road ahead is for busses only, the only signs are placed past the entry into the bus lane. I attach two photos so you can see the situation. Can I contest this ticket in any way? Many thanks.

Hi there, about 2 months ago I got on a bus using my wallet to tap, I assumed my contactless took the payment, I had my oyster but wasn't sure it had money, got on the bus no issue I didn't really take notice it beeping or anything like that. I was approached by a conductor during the journey but I couldn't find my contactless, I didn't show my oyster because I didn't think it took the payment. The conductor took my detail and said I'd get a letter and I could respond with my bank statement recording my journey. Checked my statement and nothing had been recorded, checked my oyster balance and it had sufficient funds. I responded to the letter with this info and told them I assumed my Oyster card must have had sufficient funds to pay for the journey. They responded that it hadn't and nor did it have sufficient funds to cover me and that they will notify me of their decision. Last week I received a court summons! I am a uni student about to graduate, I've got no evidence to prove I paid and don't know what to do?! I accept that no payment has been recorded and so I would be due to pay the fare and possibly a fine but I really can't afford a criminal conviction. I didn't intend not to pay, if I hadn't it was pure accident, and this would be the first time I've been so careless in not assuring my payment was acknowledged. know I could possible settle out of court by emailing the prosecution team at tfl but I don't know what to include in my letter? lease could someone assist me, my hearing is in 3 weeks and my career is about to go down the loo if I plead guilty, even if I plead not guilty I have no standing and they'll probably find me guilty anyway. All help will be much appreciated thank you!!

Damn!!!! Went through the exact same lane an hour earlier....Anyone has any update? There is no indication or signs that straight ahead is bus lane only. The signs are well past the start of lane and like OP, it was too late once realised.

Hi guys, i recently had a holiday abroad and booked a transfer with Greyhound from Cardiff to Bristol Airport. The bus turned up and was overheating, so the driver told us they wouldnt be able to take us and a replacement would come and pick us up within 30 mins. Nearly an hour later it still had not arrived and a number of us had to make a decision on the spot to catch the next train to Bristol to ensure we made our flight. We had to pay £24 for the train and then a further £30 for a taxi from the station to the airport. We actually got the the airport with only 12mins before the gat closed - luckily we had hand luggage for a long weekend or we would have not made it!! I have written a recorded letter to them complaining about the service and the fact that i want my £10 one way trasnfer refunded, along with the costs incurred because their bus broke down. The total between the 3 of us was about £84 inc posting the letter etc. I have not heard anything back despite royal mail showing it was signed for 3 weeks ago. I emailed them after a fortnight stating that i knew they received my complaint and expected a reply yet nothing. Can anyone advise how i move forward as im unsure if they are regulated by anyone, as i cannot push onto the FOS liek i would with a financial org? Small claims? Or should i sent a follow up first? Many thanks!

Hery everyone. I'm not sure if I can post this if not sorry. but I wanted your opinions as to whether the RPI done the right thing. http://www.suttonguardian.co.uk/news/10721808.Bus_inspector_fines_young_girl_even_though_she_had_mum_s_Oyster_card/

Hi, I stumbled across this forum whilst researching ways to appeal the PCN I have just been served with. As I understand, the Lendal Bridge bus lane fiasco is quite controversial (google brings up many irate articles). I lived in York last year for a few months and throughout that time, the bridge was open to all vehicles. On 9/9/13 however I was flat hunting in York as I'm planning to move back there and drove over the bridge unaware that it is now a restricted route for buses/taxis only between 1030 and 1700. The signs are poor - from the direction I took, I did not notice any new signage and my research showed that there in fact are NO new signs (apparently to avoid planning applications) and the sign that was in place is small and on the pavement next to a bus stop. I've found a photo that shows a double decker stopped at this bus stop would shadow the sign completely from drivers. In addition I did not notice any new relevant road markings. Whilst on this forum I also found something to do with the wording of the PCN - use of 'will' as opposed to 'may' in the following sentence: 'This Notice will be taken to have been served on the second working day after the day of posting (as shown on the right) unless you can show that it was not'. Have I a case to appeal?? Any advice welcome!! Nicola

I received a fine from Essex County Council for going up a bus lane at North Hill in Colchester and got a nice couple of pictures showing my car in the area. Not living in Colchester and following a Sat Nav i was not aware that i could not head up the road and a couple of other cars also drove up the road, so i presume they got a ticket as well. I've been back to the road and it is marked out on the road as a bus lane both on the road and there are signs at the start of it, however there is nothing to mention at what time the bus lane is active. I got 'caught' at 3.15pm on a Sunday afternoon - of which my presumption with other cars heading up the road that it was ok to do so, add that there are no signs to show when the lane is active. Looking online it appears that the lanes are active 24/7. Something I had to research to find out. My question is, the fact that I do not live in Colchester, could not see any signs to show time of operation and other cars were heading up this road - is an appeal likely to be upheld? Do they have to show times of operation to make the ticket legit? Also has anyone else had a ticket from here and if they can share their experience? Thanks in advance.

Hi All, Recently my girlfriend was assualted by a uniformed local bus driver... This is a letter we propose to send to them however we are looking for some advice. Obviously all the names and details have been removed. Do you think this is strong enough without being rude?

On 5th June I was in Leeds, my first visit. Due to a big accident on the M1 I was over two hours late for an appointment and arrived in the midst of rush hour. I followed my satnav to arrive at the address I needed and apparently, although I have no recollection of this, drove in a bus lane. It must have been for a very short distance and probably in a line of other traffic as I do not recall ANY signs. On receiving the notice I wrote explaining the situation and asked them to confirm that both the notice and the road markings fully comply with regulations. I was apparently in Boar Lane at the time. Their reply states they that they have rejected my representations as I was filmed driving in a clearly marked bus lane. Firstly I had not actually made representations as such - just asked for information, and secondly the photo they sent seems to me to show the markings are very faded at the place the photograph of my car was taken. They have sent quite a few more photos of the route and I must admit I don't recognise it at all. The roads were VERY congested at that point and I definitely don't recall any circumstances where I drove into a bus lane. Does anyone have an opinion as to whether the signs are FULLY compliant in that area of Leeds? Their letter is dated 9 July 2014 but they then mention a "date of service" of the notice as 14 July 2014, ie 3 days hence. Is this correct? I can't decide whether to think I have probably had £30 worth of amusement from this already and pay up the £30 or whether to pursue things further. I certainly won't be going to Leeds again whatever the outcome!

Hi guys, new here so I hope I conform to set posting standards. Any issues, please point them out. Anyway, I got a PCN by the council through the post for "BEING IN A BUS LANE". I think the PCN itself didnt contain any errors which would make it invalid. The photographic pictures show that I did indeed briefly use the bus lane. I was surprised at myself that I would drive in a bus lane without realising it, so at the time I put it down to it being dark and raining heavily, causing glare off the road surface. I appealed the ticket on many grounds, including compassionate, highlighting the set of circumstances which caused the offence to take place as well as many bus regulations which I believed wernt met. I expressed the fact that there was no traffic in either lanes, so no advantage was gained or buses obstructed in the use of the bus lane (which I must have used for a max of approx 50 metres before I turned left). I really didnt think it would get rejected, but the council have said there are no grounds on which it can be cancelled. The next procedure they say is that I can either pay it at half price (£65) within 14 days or pay the full within day 15-28 and if im not happy with their decision and want to make a formal representation to the council I should not pay them at all and wait for an enforcement notice. If they do not accept my formal representations then I can take it to an independent adjudicator, but I lose the right to pay half price after this current point. Anyway, the following is the reason why im posting on here: I have 3 grounds of complaint with the council- 1) There was not enough space on their website to make my informal appeal (I ran out of characters and had to therefore print out the letter and post it recorded the next day. I would have been screwed if I was attempting to submit my appeal on the last day on their website) 2) I requested video evidence from their website, which highlighted that they would email me with a link or something of it within 24 hours. This didnt happen. 3) I realised after I sent my letter of appeal that the bus lane signage was not correctly displayed-which I now believe was most likely the reason why I failed to realise I was in the bus lane to begin with. Basically the camera enforcement sign is there, as is the time plate which states 'at any time' but the main big sign which is supposed to show the restrictions and limitations of the lane to include only buses, motorbikes and taxis is turned 180 degrees to face the oncoming traffic, so would not be seen by the motorists approaching the bus lane. Would this be a valid ground on which to resist making payment? If its not a valid argument that will overturn the ticket then ill just make the payment but I suspect a lot of people have been caught out by this. I have noticed the sign to have been like that for a few weeks now, so believe it must have been this way at the time of enforcement too. I have taken pictures so you can see what I mean. In any case, the signs are right at the start of the bus lane and not 30 metres beforehand, which I recall reading somewhere that they should be. Do I have good grounds to resist or do I not have a chance in hell and should just pay up? Does it matter that I didnt mention this issue in my original appeal? Should I write back to them now or should I ride it out and follow their set procedure? If I do have a case, what should I say/cite? Any drafts would be appreciated. Many thanks guys. You have a great community here, where everyone is pulling together to help the common man against what seem like unscrupulous capitalist councils.

Hi, I could really do with some advice: I've received a 34J 'Being in a bus lane (in the hours of operation) on Commercial Road (Nr Beecroft St) Leeds - the time of the alleged offence is 06:07. I was driving back from an appointment - in a route I don't usually use, but have no recollection of driving in the bus lane - it's not something I usually do and I don't know if there is a turning or a petrol station there but, from the image, the road seems deserted. I've read a few posts where these penalty notices are based on the bus lane being 24hr so am assuming this is what has happened (though still can't see why I was in the lane!). Anyway some of these seem to have been overturned due to the wording and hoped I might be lucky enough to get the same fate! It is a £60 fine with the option for reduction: 'If the penalty charge is paid before the end of the 14 days beginning with the date of service of the notice, the penalty charge will be reduced by half.' Appreciate if not, but would appreciate guidance if there is any way around this. Thanks

Hi, newbie here. I'm trying to find information on what makes a bus, a bus. If I have a cat C licence, I can't drive a bus / coach - cat D. If all but 8 seats were removed, would the vehicle still be a bus, or just a heavy vehicle? I can't find any literature regarding this as it seems quite a specific question. I'm thinking that if there are insufficient seats - the vehicle could not be regarded as a psv / pcv... where would i find relevant legislation on the subject? thanx guys, take it easy.

Hi, Hope this is the right forum! A friend received a PCN for going in a bus lane but on the photo it looks more like a cycle lane. Looking at the photos it looks like he was pulling to the outside of the road to avoid driving down what looks like a cycle lane plus the lane he was in does not look like it would fit a bus next to a car which is why we think it could be a cycle lane. But the main query is can I appeal based on the following: The PCN Number starts NQ but when I entered this into the website with the vehicle reg it states the PCN Number is wrong and should start NG. I retried with NG and the vehicle reg and now it says "The penalty charge notice does not match the vehicle registration number." So we can not even get on the site to see any further information or video of the incident. Any help or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

There is a very annoying short bus lane in Romford, which makes cars have to go around it if they want to turn left on to the A12. Many cars (including me) ignore this and just use the bus lane. I havn't got a fine, nor do I know anyone that has, but I see a lot of confused people straddling both lanes, including my father than recently brought it up. There used to be a sign with the time restrictions, however the sign is no longer there. Are the same restrictions still in place? Here is streetview with the sign in place. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.588407,0.171717,3a,75y,126.18h,86.06t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sReS--ARWQwjtIp_gSHvcjw!2e0

Hi all, Please could someone offer some advice on the following, whilst driving for the first time in Birmingham City Centre I've been recorded as driving in a bus lane. I honestly didn't know that the road was a Bus Lane only road, I entered the road from a roundabout, Roundabout had four exits including my approach lane. My sat nav took me as to exit from the the second exit which was marked Bus Lane so I drove around the roundabout knowing there were Bus Routes in force and exited at the first exit (which would have been first left if approaching from my original direction before entering the roundabout) I saw no signs and there were no road markings stating Bus Lane so I was surprised to return from working away to find a PCN for driving in a bus lane. I've looked on Google Earth but the street view is from 2009 which is of no help. I've done some searching about on this Bus Lane and apparently the residents of Birmingham are up in arms over the vast amounts of PCN's being generated from this route. Although I was driving the vehicle it was sent to the person (registered keeper) on the log book stating they were liable for the charge and the alleged offence was more or less down to them, is this true? I've attached the notice if anyone would be able to offer any advice. [ATTACH=CONFIG]50040[/ATTACH] Thanks in advance

Just to start........I am getting dismayed at the amount of dirty tricks employed by Councils to Rape motorists of money. Any way.....short time ago I was visiting Plymouth. Went down a road approaching some traffic lights and drifted into the appropriate lane. It was a Bus lane...there were cameras...and the next is self explanatory. Received the ticket...my wife took and stated that we should get that paid and i genuinely didnt see it again assuming that she had paid it. As it happens she hadnt and I subs received a notice for the higher amount. I went onto the Council website and completed the webform asking if I could pay the initial amount due to the genuine oversight and sent my huge apologies. THIS HAS BEEN COMPLETELY IGNORED AND I NOW HAVE AN ENFORCEMENT NOTICE WITH A THREAT OF COURT ACTION. And apparently the only way I can deal with this is make a statutory declaration about it. However, there are only a couple of options with this neither of which applies to me. Once again......motorists being screwed.

Morning everyone, I was travelling home on one of the new routemasters yesterday afternoon when some inspectors came on board. They asked for my card, and since I used a contactless card I showed them it as I have done previously. They checked the last 4 digits with the bus driver and said they had no record of me swiping my card. I was positive that I had, as I had had to step over someone's things to do it and I watched the light turn green. They checked my details and gave me a penalty notice. They said I could appeal straightaway if I had proof of my journey. Apparently at the moment they have no way to check by scanning my card and this is being rolled out in future. I have checked my bank statement online, and for yesterday there are 4 charges from a bus. I actually only used my card 3 times so not sure how that happened! It does not say on the statement which bus the card was used on, or at what time. I am waiting for NatWest to get back to me about whether they can access this information, but wondered if anyone else had advice on what else I can do? If needs be I will go to court as I know I did swipe my card and co-operated fully with them. I asked whether they could use CCTV evidence but they said this was only for assaults. Thanks in advance for any advice given.

hi - ive heard that if a road is bus only there should be advance warning. What are the rules regarding this? I was driving down corporation street in birmingham approaching an island with three exits. The first and third exits were bus only - and straight ahead was no entry So corporation street is basically a dead end for cars - but there is no warning signs to indicate this in advance of the island. the only bus lane signs are those on the roads off of the island. Is this adeqate signage? Spoke to someone at the council and they said corporation st is a pedestrian only zone anyway. Checked google streetview and there were signs up at the start of corporation street, but they are no longer there Thanks for any help that is forhcoming d

So, got this one a couple weeks ago: youtube.com/watch?v=zL9Orhx6Zok Challenged the PCN, and was rejected by the council. My grounds for challenge were: 1) No sign indicating end of bus lane 2) I travelled less than 20m in the bus lane 3) When my car comes to rest I am stationary ahead of the broken section, though the view is obscured and it is impossible to say that I am inside it. 4) I did not obstruct traffic flow The reply from the council was along the lines of: 1) The bus lane end sign is further down the road, after the junction, and they sent me a picture of the sign about 150 meters down the road over the junction. - However, across the junction there is a sign to say that the bus lane restarts, therefore it must have ended(?). Equally, if the bus lane were to continue across the junction then a sign to say that there is a left turn then the red line across the top of the arrow should have been in place?. (apologies I cannot post images/links so my lousy description will have to suffice). 2) They chose to neglect the 20m guideline I spoke about.- In my draft of what I may (or may not) sent to PATAS I have shown using photos and the video exactly the distance that my car was in the bus lane (I mean, from when my first front/nearside wheel enters to when the solid white line becomes broken) to be 17 meters at the most. 3) Said that 'had a permitted vehicle been travelling in the bus lane I would have held it up' - I was stationary outside of the bus lane, so I wouldn't have? Another thing of note is that they sent me the Notice of Rejection via email 6 days ago, but have not yet received a paper copy, nor a notice of appeal. Which I was waiting for before starting the PATAS thing (if I go ahead with that). To me it seems fairly obvious that I haven't caused any traffic obstructions. Though I do accept that my car was fully in the bus lane for about 10m prior to it becoming a turning lane. I have about a week until the £65 gets upped to £130. What would people's opinion be on should I go for the appeal or not? I'm a student so don't really have the money to chuck about if it doesn't get upheld. And I've seen similar cases go either way... Thankyou in advance, Chris

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25984766

Hello there, I am new user here, I am seeking advises/helpful tips before I appeal to against PCN. What happened: On Saturday 23rd March 2013, at 19:01 (7:01pm), I was driving along Friar Street in Reading Town Centre to find restaurant place. I was taken into that route by Tom-tom Sat-nav (iPhone mobile version) to take me and 3 other passengers to that restaurant place in Friar Street from A33 northbound. When I got to entrance area, I braked and saw a not very clearly signs post (on the left side) as it wasn’t lit at that time, tried to work out to understand what is that sign trying to say and it took me a while to understand (as I am Cerebral Palsy user and got mobility problems) at the middle of square block. I managed to get picture of sign (red circle with car at bottom and motorbike above) wordings like ‘7am – 11am & 4pm – 7pm’. I looked at my car clock, it stated 19:01, I looked at rear mirror, there was a car driving behind me and felt I couldn’t stop my car otherwise car would hit me at rear therefore I had to continue driving down this street. While I was at that area, there was a few vehicles around which made me feel uncomfortable driving and something wasn’t quite right. Penalty Charge Notice Issued on 4th April 2013: On Friday 5th April 2013, I received Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) from Reading Borough Council saying my vehicle was ‘being in a bus lane’ at 18:59.54 on 23/03/2013. I felt that I wasn’t treat in correct ways by Reading Council and appeal to against this PCN due following points and by looking at photo/video evidences which supplied by Reading Council: - I was fined by 6 seconds early before 7pm (Council CCTV system timestamp). Who have the correct time? Council or me? - I even didn’t know that I was actually on the bus lane. Council placed incorrect signs displayed? - Left signs post wasn’t lit at that time which making me very hard to understand. Right signs post was lit but it too far to read. - Could not see ‘Bus Lane’ marker on the road in that time. On the photo, very clearly there was no ‘Bus Lane’ road marker and there was ‘Bus Stop’ road maker on the left hand side after traffic lights. - Could not see ‘CCTV’ signs around in that time. Even I didn’t know that I was actually monitored in this area. - Why my sat-nav Tom-tom didn’t detected this section as ‘bus lane’? It could be the following reasons (I will email to Tom-tom company to clarify): Maybe Tom-tom map haven’t updated that section? or Time of iPhone clock passed 7pm? or Reading Council didn’t inform the Sat-nav people? So, using these above information, is it worth for me to appeal this or not? as I felt I should do becuase there is no bus lane signs/road markers around that area? Thanks in advance Kindly regards

Hello, here's the story. For some reason, I have not received PCN, may be was lost in the mail, but received Enforcement Notice. I prepared representation, and come to a point when I need to send it. I realized that the letter does not contain the necessary addresses. There is a whole page with explanations on how to pay, but there is no address indicated where to send representation! I find their website and precisely: Make a challenge against a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), and there I came across another crap. In the box where I need to fill my PCN Reference is written: "PCN Reference (including CG prefix)". Very well, except that my reference number begins with BZ! I decided to try it, and actually the system accepted this number and showed me the necessary information. I uploaded pictures and wrote the information needed, I click the "Submit" button and guess what? " An error occurred, please try again later"! And so a few days in a row!!! They are very good at taking our money for nothing, because there is no sign that this is a bus lane, but when it comes to challenge against a PCN, their letter does not have the necessary information, their website is misleading and even is impossible to do representation online! Whether it is by accident or on purpose, I do not want to speculate, but it is strange and suspicious. Here is the Enforcement Notice: