Drivers in London have been hit with almost one million penalty charge notices for driving in bus lanes, contributing almost a third of the total penalties across the UK.

The stunning figures reveal that Brits have paid £68million a year in PCNs between 2015 and 2017, with drivers in the capital stung the most. The RAC study also flagged up Manchester Council as the heaviest penalisers outside of the capital, with 172,311 fines sent out in 2017, a shocking 175 per cent increase.

In total there were 3.4million penalty charge notices in the two year period, but it’s in London that they are hit hardest, with 994,473 penalties. It’s made much worse for those driving in the capital as they have to pay up to £160 per fine, compared with the £60 fine which is generally accepted across the UK.

In Croydon, PCN’s rose by an incredible 787 per cent.

The RAC is calling on councils to be clearer on the rules for bus lanes, suggesting that signage is unclear and causing confusion for drivers.

RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: “Bus lanes have a vital role to play in ensuring the reliability of public transport as they help to keep our urban areas moving.

"But the sheer quantity of fines – more than a million every year – suggests something is awry and we don’t believe the vast majority are knowingly breaking the rules.

"While there is clearly no defence for deliberately driving in a bus lane, we believe more can be done to make it obvious to drivers when they can and can’t drive in one.”

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