Red route bay: its sign must make clear when and for what the bay may be used - ask for the sign as it was and check the stop against it
A red route bay can allow stopping that the red lines around it do not, but only at the times, for the uses and for the length of stay shown on the sign beside it (for example loading for 20 minutes between 10am and 4pm, or Blue Badge parking). Signs and road markings have to tell drivers clearly what is allowed: Transport for London itself says their purpose is to "adequately inform" drivers of the stopping restrictions. If the sign by the bay was missing, unreadable, turned away, or did not say when or for what the bay could be used, or your stop was within what the sign allowed, ask the authority for a photograph of the sign as it was on the day and check your stop against it.
Legal basis
Transport for London, "Common myths and complaints about red route parking enforcement", read 9 October 2026: "The purpose of traffic signs and road markings is to 'adequately inform' drivers of the stopping restrictions on the red route. This means that, provided drivers are not misled, the sign or road marking is valid." Hatfield v Transport for London (ETA 2170566611), a London Tribunals key case (persuasive, not binding), records a bay whose sign stated that no stopping was permitted Monday to Saturday 7am to 7pm except between 10am and 4pm, when loading for 20 minutes and disabled parking for 3 hours were permitted, and summarises R (Herron & Parking Appeals Ltd) v The Parking Adjudicator [2011] EWCA Civ 905 as holding that signs and markings should not mislead or fail to inform the motorist (Herron cited only as Hatfield states it).
How to identify this in your case
Only for a code 46 ticket for stopping in a red route bay. What did the sign beside the bay say: the days and hours, what the bay may be used for (loading, Blue Badge parking, general parking), and any time limit? Was it there, facing traffic and readable? Did your stop fit what it allowed? Photographs of the sign help most.
Sample appeal wording
Sample wording to adapt and send yourself — it may not fit your notice or the stage you are at.
Please send me a photograph of the sign beside the bay at this location as it was on the date of this penalty charge, showing the times, uses and any time limit it set. Signs on a red route must adequately inform drivers of the stopping restrictions. If the sign did not make clear that this stop was prohibited at that time, or the stop was within what the sign allowed, the penalty charge should be cancelled.
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