A freedom of information request by Martin Booth of Bristol 24/7 has revealed that the bus gate on Cumberland Road has resulted in 22,366 penalty charge notices and raised £513,369 in fines. It may not have improved air quality or encouraged greater use of public transport, but the gate has been a financial success.
Friends of Bathurst Basin (not Cumberland Basin as reported in the press) expressed our view in September last year, where we predicted that the gate ‘will obviously be a lucrative source of funds to a financially-strapped City Council’.