Bus driver hit with fine for using bus lane to pick up passengers

A bus driver was slapped with a fine after using a bus lane to reach a stop.

The vehicle, belonging to Connexions Buses, was given a ticket by the local council for being in a bus lane in the city centre on October 24. The owner of the company Craig Temple revealed that one of his buses was given the penalty, reported LeedsLive .

He joked that it was “top marks to Leeds City Council here” as he shared the fine on social media. But he did question the way the system functions.

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He wrote: “Top marks to Leeds City council here…. The bus being fined for being in a bus lane is stopping at a stop to pick passengers up. Clearly the system doesn’t work."

While speaking to the BBC, Mr Temple added that this hadn’t happened to them before but he had heard of it happening to other companies in the country.

He told the BBC: "I've heard of other companies in the country where it's happened, but it's never happened with us. It's a bus that we've not long bought so it's not in our colours yet, but it's still registered as a bus."

Mr Temple took the situation in good humour and he would "frame the letter and put it in the office."

A bus driver was hit with a fine for travelling in a city centre bus lane (Leeds City Council)

Social media users were quick to share their thoughts on the absurdity. One said: “You couldn’t write it, could you! Give us strength!”

Another wrote: “Does no one actually review each notice before it is sent out? Either the system is automated or someone has forgotten what a bus looks like.”

One person joked: “It looks like a bus. It's stopped at a bus stop so I'm guessing it must be a van.”

In a statement sent to the BBC, a spokesperson for the council reportedly said: "The ticket was issued in error and has now been cancelled. We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

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