OXFORDSHIRE County Council made £288,000 last year fining motorists who drove through bus lanes in Oxford city centre.

Bus gate enforcement was introduced in Oxford in 2007, but has attracted criticism from traders who claim it drives business away from the city centre.

The council said it helps to ‘manage and protect specific city centre routes which play an important role in the efficient running of bus services’.

However the fine does not currently seem to be proving a powerful-enough deterrent.

In the 2017/18 financial year, the authority gave just over 27,200 penalty charges to motorists who drove though the restrictions – about 860 more than the year before.

There are currently four bus gates in the city centre.

On High Street only buses, taxis and emergency vehicles are allowed between 7.30am and 6.30pm.

On Castle Street and Magdalen Street the restriction is full-time.

On George Street only buses, taxis and emergency vehicles are allowed between 10am and 6pm, but there is access for loading between 6pm and 10am.

In total the council said it actually made £711,000 in fines during 2017/18, but had to deduct £423,000 in costs.

It is understood this is for technology used to catch motorists.

It made less than it did in the year before, both in terms of profit and by charging motorists.

It was paid a total of £724,000, but spent less than it did during 2017/18, too – £337,000.

That meant that it made a surplus of £387,000 charging people who drove through bus gates, despite issuing fewer fines.

The money collected is spent paying administrative costs of the enforcement and employing its contractor, NSL Services.

Any money left over is spent on transport in the city, including the county council’s park and rides.

Anyone who is caught driving through the bus gates is told to pay a charge, which is set nationally.

That is £60, reduced to £30 if it is paid within 14 days.