East Parade bus gate: Leeds council issues warning to drivers as 16,000 caught by new Headrow camera

Between July and December 2023, some 16,222 motorists were caught by the newly opened East Parade bus, according to numbers exclusively obtained by the YEP through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

On average Leeds City Council issued 2,700 fixed rate penalty fines a month to drivers breaching the bus gate, which junctions northbound with the Leeds Headrow.

The bus gate, which opened in June 2023, represented part of the final phase of city council’s plans to make City Square ‘people-first’ by removing general through-traffic away from the city centre.

A Leeds City Council spokesperson, said: "We want Leeds to be a city where you don’t need a car and we’ve made significant changes to areas of the city centre to make it more pedestrian friendly, provide facilities for cyclists and to promote the use of public transport.

"Bus gates allow for people travelling by sustainable transport methods to travel quicker and more safely, segregated from private vehicles and in turn helps improves air quality in Leeds."

Fixed rate penalties of £70, reducing to £35 if paid within 14 days, were issued to 15,856 of those caught while 366 drivers saw their fines successfully overturned on appeal. The total sum received from these notices was approximately £440,000.

Bus gates were previously introduced on Vicar Lane in October 2021 and City Square in October 2022 as part of ongoing transformative works to the area outside Leeds station.

Some 13,455 motorists were caught within the first month of the City Square bus gate opening but those numbers have since down trended to 2,000 a month as of March 2023 and now stand at little over 200 a month.

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A council spokesperson added: "Bus gates need to be enforced as a deterrent for use of these corridors and the changes to the city centre followed lengthy periods of issuing warning notices and installation of multiple signs in advance of the restrictions.

"The schemes were extensively consulted on and the data shows that over time, the number of offences have reduced by 87% from the peak which demonstrates the bus gate is having the desired effect on traffic flows."

Drivers are encouraged to use up-to-date satellite navigation for their journey’s or research alternative routes.