Council technical issue sees taxi drivers getting bus lane fines in SheffieldTaxi drivers in Sheffield are being fined for driving in bus lanes despite being permitted to do so.
A technical issue has been blamed after licensed taxi drivers were slapped with £60 fixed penalty notices from Sheffield Council for driving in bus lanes around the city.
One taxi driver who contacted The Star has been given 15 fines in eight weeks.
He says taxpayers’ money is being wasted by the council sending out fines.
He said: “In the last eight weeks personally I have received around 15 of the fines which I then have to appeal against and they are then quashed.
“There must be around 3,500 licensed taxi drivers in Sheffield and many that I speak to also receive these fines and have to go through the appeal process.”
Vehicles which can use bus lanes include taxis, cycles and authorised vehicles such those being used by the emergency services.
Hafeas Rehman, chairman of Sheffield Taxi Trade Association, said last year he was aware of a driver getting more than 20 fines in eight months due to a technical issue.
He said: “Another couple of drivers have contacted me recently with similar issues.”
“There are a number of reasons why it can happen, including licences expiring and it taking time for new information to come through, but sometimes the council has these technical issues.
“Luckily they can resolve it easily and the fines are overturned.”
Paul Gosney, business development manager for City Taxis, said he was aware of the issue but did not believe any of the company’s drivers had been affected.
A spokesman for Sheffield Council said: “We are aware of this issue and have been working hard to resolve it.
“Unfortunately, due to a technical issue, some taxi drivers have been incorrectly issued with fixed penalty notices.
“We apologise to those drivers and will of course cancel all penalties that were issued erroneously.”
source:
http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/business/ ... -1-6930040
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