Birmingham City Council is set to cancel 18,000 bus lane enforcement fines after admitting they got it wrong.
That is the number of fines disputed by motorists since bus lane cameras were installed in the city centre five months ago.
But there is no prospect of refunds for those who paid up without first challenging a fine.
Hundreds of motorists complained that the warning signs at two locations were confusing and unclear, a view backed by an independent traffic tribunal ruling last week.
Council deputy leader Ian Ward admitted that they should have reviewed the signs a lot sooner.
He said: “I do accept with hindsight we should have reviewed it in October when it was first reported and November when our own transport scrutiny committee began looking into the issue.
“If we had reviewed it we would not have found ourselves with the decision of the traffic adjudicator.”
He said they accepted most of the adjudicator’s 14-page ruling and that no further £60 fines will be issued at the three locations identified has having inadequate warning signs until they are satisfied the problems have been resolved.
And he added that with plans to introduced enforcement cameras on the full 26km of bus lanes throughout the city in the months ahead that lessons had been learned.
Independent traffic penalty tribunal adjudicator Stephen Knapp recently ruled that £60 fines issued at Priory Queensway southbound, which totalled 47,000 by last month, ‘should not be enforced’ as the signs are inadequate and caused ‘understandable confusion’ among drivers.
He also ruled that the signs for St Martin’s Queensway approaching Moor Street Queensway, for which more than 30,000 fines have been issued since September, were also inadequate.
