Drivers in London win over half of appeals against bus lane fines, analysis shows
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Drivers in London who appeal against bus lane fines win more than half of them, according to a new report. The AA analysed statistics from London Councils, which represents the capital’s 32 borough councils and the City of London, and they showed 56% of appeals made by motorists against bus lane fines in the city were either upheld or not contested in the 2023/24 financial year.
For moving traffic offences such as stopping in a yellow box when not allowed, the figure was 35%. Combined, the successful appeals represent nearly 7,300 cases. The AA raised concerns about why drivers were forced to spend time and money going through the appeals process, when the fines could have been cancelled after they first contacted councils to complain.
It also found that, in the three weeks to January 4, six councils were unable to supply London Tribunals’ traffic adjudicators with paperwork to validate the fines they had issued. They were the boroughs of Lambeth, Croydon, Harrow, Redbridge and Greenwich, and the City of London.
Adjudicators cancelled these fines, but the AA believes they are “the tip of the iceberg”. For each successful appeal, “perhaps hundreds more” drivers who receive invalid fines pay up within 14 days to secure the 50% discount for early payment, the AA said.
