Bus gates and lanes bring out dark side of city council
Bus gates and lanes bring out the dark side of our supposedly benevolent council.
That is my opinion and I am not alone. How else do you explain the millions pouring in from motorists - most of whom have surely made an honest mistake?
The latest figures show the Arundel Gate bus gate is the fourth highest earner in the country, raising £674,126 in 2025 from 21,844 fines.
The shocking thing is it’s no longer shocking. The Star has been reporting on the vast sums it has earned since it went live in March 2023.
It’s clear that motorists are a cash cow to be milked mercilessly. If I’m wrong, how else can it be explained?
You only have to look at the warning signs.
When it launched, so many people drove through the bus gate that after six months several huge red signs were put up.
But instead of saying ‘No Entry’ with the exemptions underneath: taxis, Ubers and buses, it said ‘Bus Gate Enforcement NOW STARTED’ which is just confusing.
The authority insisted they were in line with guidance from the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 and that was that.
No quarter given or common sense applied.
Drivers also have to contend with overly-complicated signs. On Langsett Road heading into Hillsborough they face two detailed boards telling them what to do, what not to do and when to do it, including a triple decker with obscure symbols few drivers know.
Meanwhile the money keeps rolling in.
Over 250,000 drivers have been fined for using the city’s 19 bus lanes and gates in the last three years, generating more than £9.3million. About £3m a year - money not spent with local businesses, who are struggling as it is.
Yet nothing has changed.
Everything is above board and approved, the authority says - despite 60 people still driving through the bus gate on Arundel Gate every day.
The council is under a lot of financial pressure and is clearly keen to maximise income. But this must be a breach of its founding principles. They are there to serve the people of Sheffield, aren’t they?
Coun Maroof Raouf made a good point when complaining about damage due to potholes: “People are struggling to pay council tax, feed their families and heat their homes. They shouldn’t be paying out for car damage due to potholes as well.”
And that goes for bus gates too.
No one is arguing the council isn’t strapped for cash.
But this grubby money grabbing is damaging relations between those who elect power and those who wield it. And something has to change.