How to fight a bus lane or bus gate penalty
A penalty for driving in a bus lane (contravention code 34) or through a bus gate (code 33) comes by post, usually with a link to the camera video. It is a civil penalty: no penalty points and no criminal record. This guide explains what the council has to prove, the arguments that have won and lost at the tribunals, and how to make your challenge. The rules for bus lanes are on bus and cycle lanes, and the amounts on PCN fine amounts. For other tickets, start at fight your ticket.
The rule
A bus lane is a lane kept, at the times shown on its signs, for buses and any other vehicles the signs allow, such as cycles, taxis or motorcycles. A bus gate is a short stretch of road that only buses, and the vehicles shown on its round blue sign, may use. Each is created by a traffic order, and the council must put up signs and markings that give drivers adequate information about it.
- The hours. Outside the times shown, anyone can use a bus lane. A lane with no times shown applies at all times.
- Stopping. You may enter a bus lane to stop, load or unload where that is not banned (Highway Code rule 141), but many bus lanes also have waiting or loading restrictions.
- Who may use it. Only the vehicles the signs show. A Blue Badge gives no right to use a bus lane during its hours.
- Who enforces. In London, the boroughs and Transport for London. Elsewhere, councils that have been given bus lane enforcement powers, in England under the Traffic Management Act 2004 since 31 May 2022.
What the council has to prove
The council has to prove that your vehicle was in the bus lane, or went through the bus gate, while the restriction applied, and that the restriction was adequately signed. The evidence must come from an approved camera. Government guidance to councils in England outside London says a trained officer must review the footage, and be satisfied that it clearly shows a contravention, before a PCN is issued.
Arguments that have won
The signs did not tell you clearly
The council must give adequate information about the restriction. In R (Nottingham City Council) v Bus Lane Adjudicator (2017) a bus gate on Shakespeare Street was marked with pedestrian zone signs rather than the bus lane signs the government's Traffic Signs Manual calls for. Two adjudicators found the signs inadequate and cancelled the penalty, and the High Court dismissed the council's challenge. Photograph the signs and markings as you approached them, and say what was missing, hidden or misleading.
The camera was not approved
In Duthieuw v Ealing (2022) the approval certificate for a London bus lane camera had been issued under rules that do not apply in London. The adjudicator held that the camera's video could not be used, and allowed the appeal. If the council's evidence pack does not show that its camera is approved, ask.
You were not in it while it applied
Check the times on the signs against the time on the video. If the lane's hours had ended, or not yet begun, the contravention did not happen.
Your vehicle was allowed
If the signs allow your vehicle, such as a licensed taxi or a motorcycle, say so and send proof, such as your taxi licence.
Other points to check
- London's two stages. In London a bus lane PCN asks you to pay within 28 days, and many councils will consider an informal challenge in that time. If it is not paid, the council sends an Enforcement Notice, and you then have 28 days to make formal representations. Don't miss that second deadline.
- A layout that forced you in. Government guidance tells councils in England outside London to review places where drivers would have to break a restriction to avoid a safety or congestion problem, giving left turns where there is a bus lane as an example. If the layout left you no safe choice, show it with photos.
- Making way for an emergency vehicle. If you moved into the lane only to let an ambulance, fire engine or police car through, say so and point to it in the video. It is not one of the legal grounds, but the council can still cancel the penalty for it.
- A bus gate at a new camera site. In England outside London a council should send a warning letter, not a PCN, for the first contravention at a new camera site in its first 6 months. The rule covers moving traffic contraventions, such as a bus gate enforced under code 33, but not bus lanes under code 34.
- A late PCN. Outside London the council must serve the PCN within 28 days of the contravention, or within 6 months if it asked the DVLA for the keeper's details within 14 days and did not get them in time.
- Mistakes on the PCN. Check the date, time, place, vehicle registration and contravention code.
Arguments that usually fail
- "I followed my sat nav." The duty to follow the signs is yours (Miss F v South Tyneside Council, 2022).
- "I'm not from here," or "I couldn't read the sign." The rules apply to every driver, whatever their knowledge or language (Mr S v Cardiff County Council, 2024).
- "The lane's hours were nearly over." There is no such thing as a near miss: entering a few minutes before the end is not a defence (Mr D v Blackpool Borough Council, 2024).
- "I drive a private hire car, and taxis are allowed." A private hire vehicle is not a taxi, so a sign allowing taxis does not include it (Mr K v Sheffield City Council, 2022).
- "I have a Blue Badge." Badge holders have no exemption.
- "The signs didn't say why the road was closed." Signs have to show the restriction, not the reason for it. Clearly visible signs that follow the regulations and government guidance will normally be adequate (R (Oxfordshire County Council) v Bus Lane Adjudicator, 2010).
- "Lots of drivers get caught there." That alone does not make the signs inadequate, although government guidance tells councils outside London that persistent contraventions at one place should prompt them to review its layout and signs.
Evidence to gather
- The council's video or photos. Watch from before you reach the lane, and note the times. In England outside London and in Wales the council must send you still images if you ask.
- Photos of the signs and markings, taken safely: from the driver's position as you approached, close up to show the times and the vehicles allowed, and any sign that was hidden or damaged.
- Your dashcam footage, if you have it.
- Proof that your vehicle was allowed, such as a taxi licence.
- The PCN, the date it arrived and, in London, the Enforcement Notice.
What to write
Keep it short and factual: what happened, which ground it fits, and what the evidence shows, one point per paragraph. Quote only decisions you have read: London's adjudicators have seen appeals citing cases that do not exist, invented by AI tools.
Examples to adapt, with your own details in place of the brackets:
The entrance to [road] is marked only with [description of the signs], which do not show that it is a bus gate, as my photos show. The council did not give adequate information about the restriction, so the contravention did not occur (R (Nottingham City Council) v Bus Lane Adjudicator [2017] EWHC 430 (Admin)).
The sign at [place] shows the bus lane operating until [time]. The council's video shows my vehicle in the lane at [time], after that, so the contravention did not occur.
My vehicle is a licensed taxi (licence [number], attached), and the signs allow taxis to use this lane.
I moved into the bus lane at [time] only to let [an ambulance] with its lights on pass, as the council's video shows. I ask the council to cancel the penalty for this reason.
Next steps and your chances
- Outside London, make representations to the council within 28 days of the PCN, then appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal within 28 days if it rejects them. You can argue any of the legal grounds, including procedural impropriety, and ask the council to cancel for compelling reasons.
- In London, make representations within 28 days of the Enforcement Notice, then appeal to London Tribunals within 28 days of a Notice of Rejection. There are four grounds: you were not the owner; there was no contravention (which includes inadequate signs or an allowed vehicle); the vehicle was used without your consent; or the police are taking action against the driver for the same incident. You can still ask the council to cancel for other reasons, but the adjudicator can only consider those four.
- Your chances. In London in 2024-25, 55% of the bus lane appeals decided were allowed (London Tribunals annual report). Adjudicators treat earlier decisions as persuasive, not binding, so make your case on your own facts.
The London decision quoted here is on London Tribunals' key cases page, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal's on its Traff-iCase site.
This page was checked against the law in England and Wales on 25 October 2026. It is general guidance, not legal advice: see the legal disclaimer.