OVER 7,500 motorists have been caught in the controversial A4 bus lane since enforcement was introduced last year.

At the beginning of this year, Slough Borough Council made the contentious bus lane between Dover Road and Uxbridge Road junctions permanent despite backlash from residents.

A “horrible idea,” “bonkers,” and a “waste of money” were some of the words used by locals and motorists alike since it was first introduced in August 2020. A petition signed by about 8,000 angry objectors demanded the scheme be removed.

The council spent £90,000 from the government’s active travel grant to try and create a ‘modal shift’ for people to get on the bus for the shorter journeys in order to free up the ‘gridlocked’ traffic and reduce air pollution.

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Currently, only one bus every half an hour goes along the A4, but the council has ambitions to create a ‘London-style’ bus service where buses pick up passengers every few minutes but needs the right infrastructure and partnership working with bus companies before this can happen.

Council leader James Swindlehurst (Lab: Cippenham Green) previously said: “The problem is far too many people are taking the short journeys, where there are other options to take, are still getting into cars because it’s easier.

“A part of this process has to be about providing a little bit of disincentive to hop in your car because it’s the easiest thing you can do.”

The A4 bus lanes were initially operational 24/7 but were later changed to operate at peak times only following backlash. The council has spent nearly £100,000 of government funds to make the scheme permanent.

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In a Freedom of Information Request made by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the local authority revealed 7,512 motorists were caught in the bus lanes since the enforcement cameras were installed in May 2021.

If caught in the bus lanes, the driver will be fined £70 but can be reduced to £35 if paid within 28 days.

There are two cameras along the Bath Road route that monitor the bus lanes and picture anyone entering during its operational period on the weekdays.

Camera two pictured a total of 3,431 rulebreakers while camera one photographed 2,361. Last year, the LDRS reported the local authority slapped 1,720 fines between May and August 2021.

November 2021, just over a year since the bus lanes were introduced, saw the most rulebreakers with a total of 1,491 motorists caught.

Camera two caught 752 in the lanes in March 2022 and 523 the month after. However, it caught no motorists in the bus lanes in January and February 2022.

Meanwhile, camera one pictured 308 drivers in March as well and 227 in December 2021.

In July 2021, the month the local authority declared bankruptcy due to gargantuan debt, it only dished out nearly 400 fines, which is about the same as July 2022.