Motorists face £90 fine from today for driving through Oxford Road bus gates
Motorists are reminded that Oxford Road’s bus gates will be fully operational from Monday 4 September, meaning that sections of the road will only be accessible to buses, black cabs and cyclists from 6am to 9pm every day.
As of Monday, drivers who enter the bus gate areas of Oxford Road during the prohibited hours could be fined up to £90.
Cameras were installed months ago to police the bus lanes as part of the wider traffic calming work on the busy student thoroughfare. However, until now a grace period has meant motorists were not fined for entering the restricted areas.
The bus gates are marked with standard ‘no motor vehicles’ signs – a red circle, with a motorbike above a car inside.
One bus gate covers the area from Hathersage Road near Whitworth Park through to Booth Street East and West near the Royal Northern College of Music, in both directions. The other bus gate covers the area from Whitworth Street to Portland Street. This section just covers traffic heading north, towards the city centre.
Work to create pedestrian, cyclist and bus-friendly spaces on Oxford Road and Wilmslow Road has been undertaken as part of a £1bn package of city centre infrastructure improvements, designed to boost transport in the growing city centre.
The new look Oxford Road forms a key element of TfGM’s Bus Priority Package, which has now seen more than 25 miles of Greater Manchester’s bus network improved – the largest investment of its kind in decades.
Oxford Road is one of Europe’s busiest bus routes and so new bus lanes and stops have been added, along with new segregated ‘Dutch-style’ cycle lanes and bike bypasses, separating cyclists from buses. At bus stops, instead of overtaking a bus, the rider can cycle behind the stop.
Cllr Angeliki Stogia, executive member for the environment, said: “Bus gates have been introduced as part of our plan to reduce bus journey times into the city centre and increase reliability. This measure is part of a wider scheme that is helping to produce a better service for bus passengers and creating a better environment for pedestrians and cyclists, encouraging greater use of public transport and active travel options.”
Bus gates locations:
Northbound: one between Hathersage Road and Grosvenor Street and a second between Whitworth Street and Portland Street
Southbound: between Charles Street and Hathersage Road. Within this section there is an accessible southbound service loop between Dover Street and Nelson Street for access only.
