Revealed: The 17 Black Country bus lane cameras which have raised £12 million for councils

The most prolific camera was the one outside Wolverhampton bus station in Victoria Square, which issued 69,139 tickets during the five-year period up until December - that's an average of 38 tickets every day.

It is estimated that camera raised £2.4 million for Wolverhampton Council over that time, assuming everyone paid the minimum fine of £35.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed the 17 most prolific cameras across the local authorities serving Wolverhampton, Walsall and Sandwell. 

In Dudley, bus lane enforcement is handled by West Midlands Police, and the local authority itself issued no fines.

In second place, the camera in New Street in West Bromwich town centre had issued 54,309 tickets, raising £1.9 million - or more than £1,000 a day - for Sandwell Council.

Third place went to the camera in Hagley Road West, Oldbury, which issued 43,915 tickets of the five-year period, bringing in an estimated £1.5 million, or £300,000 a year. 

The data has been compiled by Kidderminster-based haulage company Breakwells, which submitted a number of requests under the Freedom of Information Act..

Director Julie Breakwell said many drivers in the Black Country were innocently straying into bus lanes without noticing it, so the company wished to make people aware of where they were most likely to be fined.

“Signage can be unclear at times, and with so much to focus on while driving, being mindful of bus lanes isn’t always a priority,“ she said.

"We want drivers to avoid the unwanted surprise of a fine after their journeys by knowing the roads to pay extra attention to.

"Professional drivers are trained to spot bus lanes and understand the rules instinctively, so they rarely get caught out. However, it's understandable that the average motorist may not have the same level of awareness. Our goal is to bridge that gap, ensuring everyone has the knowledge they need to drive with confidence and avoid unnecessary fines.”

The RAC has called for local authorities to take a more lenient approach, after it emerged that 36 per cent of motorists have accidentally driven in a bus lane. Of these, 42 per cent had been caught on camera and were asked to pay a fine.

The motoring organisation said the result of its poll demonstrated the need for councils to issue warning letters rather than fines for first-time offenders.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “We have always maintained that the majority of drivers don’t deliberately set out to drive in bus lanes, so it’s good to see this research confirming that.

“Our suspicions around the visibility and clarity of bus lane signage have also been borne out, with drivers expressing considerable concerns about signs often being hard to spot and difficult to understand.

“We continue to call on councils to write to drivers who stray into bus lanes the first time, rather than simply issuing them with fines.

“While it’s fair that anyone who deliberately drives in bus lanes should expect to be fined, our research shows that far too many drivers end up doing so unwittingly, most probably because the signage really isn’t good enough.”

But Councillor Qaiser Azeem, Wolverhampton Council's cabinet member for transport, said bus lanes and bus gates support the council’s statutory duty to secure the safe and efficient movement of traffic.

He said all Wolverhampton bus lanes had clear signs at the start, and throughout their length, along with road markings, which were inspected regularly.

“In some of our busy locations – including the city centre – signs have been mounted on a yellow background to further draw drivers’ attention to them," he said.

“Prioritising bus movements helps to deliver consistent journey times. This in turn encourages the use of buses as a sustainable mode of transport.“