Transport for London (TfL) is boosting fines for breaking the rules on London’s red routes, with penalty charge notices increasing from £130 to £160 as of Monday (January 17).
TfL said it was bringing in the changes to discourage people from driving dangerously, adding that it had doled out nearly 30 per cent more fines in 2019 than in 2016.
Fines for breaking the rules, which include stopping on red routes have not increased for nearly eleven years, when they rose from £120 to £130. TfL said it consulted on the changes in August and September last year.
Red routes make up five per cent of roads in London, but carry 30 per cent of the capital’s traffic. Some of Southwark’s red routes include Jamaica Road, Old Kent Road and Peckham Road.
Siwan Hayward, TfL’s director of compliance, policing, operations and security, said: “We are committed to keeping London moving safely and efficiently, and compliance on the Transport for London Road Network is essential in achieving those aims. Non-compliance impacts London’s air quality, creates safety risks, disrupts traffic and creates congestion for everyone.
“Increasing the penalty charge for contraventions on our road network in line with inflation will provide a more effective deterrent to drivers and improve the safety and reliability of the network.”
TfL has had a huge hole blown in its budget by the pandemic, and is currently reliant on short-term funding deals from central government.