A controversial new bus-only section of Preston city centre has netted County Hall bosses more than £2.5million in its first year.
Corporation Street bus gate was put in during April last year with the penalty notices starting to flow from June.
Blog Preston can reveal more than 80,000 penalty notices have been issued to motorists in the first 12 months for driving along the 60-metre stretch of road.
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Even in May this year more than 4,000 drivers were being caught using the bus gate which runs for a matter of metres between the Marsh Lane turn and Heatley Street in both directions.
The bus gate saw a chaotic introduction, with traffic light sequencing leading to long delays for buses and at one point highways staff having to manually enforce the bus gate due to so many motorists ignoring the new rules.
Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act following a request by Blog Preston show a total of £2.68m had been raised in fines by the county council up to 16 June this year. See the month-by-month penalty charge notices below or on Flourish.
The monthly amount made by the county council in penalty charge notices has begun to fall but it’s still making more than £100,000-a-month in the notices, which are £70 but reduce to £35 if paid within a time limit by drivers.
Just 15 appeals against the bus gate fines have been upheld since the introduction of the Corporation Street bus gate.
When the last total was revealed in January the former Conservative administration at County Hall defended the bus gate, saying the total number of notices issued had been falling and there was clear signage on display.
Blog Preston contacted Lancashire County Council to ask if the new Reform administration was keeping the bus gate and what difference the county council felt the bus gate had made in its first year of operation. We haven’t received a response by time of publication.
A city centre county councillor, Preston Independents Yousuf Motala, is among those calling for the bus gate to be scrapped – a call he has made repeatedly.
He said: “I have been against all the city centre bus lanes and the gates prior to their implementation, I have received numerous complaints from residents and businesses, particularly residents trying to access the city centre or trying to drop off and pick up from the train station and finding they’ve been ticketed for driving down the bus gate without realising.
“I have also received feedback from many residents coming into Preston who have stated that they won’t be coming back into the city centre for shopping due to these schemes, which can’t be good for the local economy with local businesses suffering.
“I also received an email from a resident last week who has been verbally abused by commuters driving down the wrong way on Ladywell Street to avoid the bus gate, which is a potential serious hazard for both drivers and particularly pedestrians.
“I have also previously raised my concerns in relation to the money raised in Preston through fines should be put into repairing and resurfacing roads in Preston not put into a pot for Highways schemes across Lancashire which is the case.
“I strongly feel that these schemes have had a detrimental impact on Preston’s economy and should be scrapped, these schemes have been designed and developed without any effective consultation with residents or businesses and their views should have been taken into serious consideration prior to implementation, these schemes have just been implemented for the benefit of the university and to fill council coffers due to years of government cuts to public sector finances.”
The introduction of the bus gate was heralded by the county council and bus firms as a way to improve reliability and punctuality of bus services in the city – with Corporation Street blamed as a bottle-neck.
Commercial director of Preston Bus, Thomas Calderbank, who operate many city services defended the bus gate and said from their perspective it was working.
He said: “The Corporation Street bus gate is a vital part of Preston’s public transport infrastructure, ensuring that bus services operate punctually and reliably. Now that the bus gate has opened, the punctuality of services has improved significantly.
“For example, on service 35 to Tanterton during May 2025, 94 per cent of journeys departed on time. Prior to the bus gate opening, only around 80 per cent of journeys commenced on time.”
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