Bus lane — outside operating hours / part-time bus lane
Many bus lanes are part-time (e.g. 7-10am, 4-7pm Mon-Fri). Driving outside hours is lawful. Errors: clock drift, wrong enforcement times, public holidays, weekend operation. If the council cannot show that the time fell within the published operating hours, the contravention is not made out.
Legal basis
Traffic Management Act 2004 Part 6 and Schedule 7 paragraph 6 (bus lane contraventions); Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Approved Devices, Charging Guidelines and General Provisions) (England) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/71) — reg.2 brings an OGL bus lane contravention within the regime and reg.1(5) excludes Greater London; Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Representations and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/576) reg.5(4)(a) (the alleged contravention did not occur); the traffic regulation order defining the operating hours; Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 (S.I. 2016/362). For contraventions before 31 May 2022, S.I. 2005/2757 is preserved by S.I. 2022/66 article 3(4)-(10).
How to identify this in your case
Cross-check PCN timestamp with the upright bus lane sign's stated hours. Bank holidays and weekend hours often disputed.
Sample appeal wording
Sample wording to adapt and send yourself — it may not fit your notice or the stage you are at. Replace the bracketed prompts with your own details; leave any case citation as it is.
Dear Sir/Madam, Re: Bus Lane PCN [NUMBER] — [LOCATION] — [DATE/TIME] I challenge this PCN. The contravention time falls outside the published operating hours. - PCN time: [TIME] on [DATE] - Operating hours per upright sign: [e.g. 'Mon-Fri 07:00-10:00 and 16:00-19:00'] - [DATE] was [Saturday / Sunday / public holiday / outside the time window by [X] minutes] Under the traffic regulation order and the Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Representations and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2022, the lane is open to all traffic outside operating hours. No contravention occurred. This falls squarely within the TPT statutory grounds: 'The alleged contravention did not occur.' Please cancel the PCN. Yours faithfully, [NAME]
Beat It writes this argument automatically
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