MOTORISTS will face a fine of up to £80 if they drive in a bus lane, under a new crackdown to be piloted across Herefordshire.

The county council is among only 54 local authorities, which will be given powers to set up speed cameras in bus lanes, or even on the back of buses.

At present, only the police have the power to hand out fines to drivers who try to dodge jams by using the lane set aside for buses.

In practice, that means motorists routinely escape punishment unless an officer happens to catch them in the act.

Succeeded

Speed cameras are already allowed in bus lanes and on buses in London, where transport chiefs say they have succeeded in speeding up bus journeys.

Now the department for transport has nominated 54 "approved authorities" - including Herefordshire - which will be invited to extend the scheme across England.

The head of the traffic management division has written to Herefordshire Council asking for its views on the initiative - and on the level of the fine - by Friday, September 6.

In London, drivers are fined £80 for entering a bus lane, twice the £40 penalty currently imposed by the city council for a parking offence.

The fine would be halved for drivers who paid within 14 days - but it could be doubled for anyone who failed to pay within 28 days.

Wide-angle cameras will allow council chiefs to judge whether a driver had no choice but to swerve into a bus lane, perhaps to avoid a broken down car.

The fine will typically fall on the owner of the vehicle - rather than the driver - because of the difficulty in identifying that driver.

A Department of Transport spokesman said the purpose of bus lanes was "frustrated" if other drivers believed they could get away with using them.

"For bus lanes to work properly, there must be movement of the greatest number of people in the shortest time - and that means on buses," he said.

"Having cameras in bus lanes, and on buses, will ensure that other drivers don't abuse the lanes and slow the buses down."

The fines could be brought in before the end of the year, because the necessary legislation is already in place through the Transport Act of 2000.

The 54 approved authorities have already taken over responsibility for handing out parking tickets from the police, a power Herefordshire acquired in November last year.

They can also take action against cars parked in bus lanes, as they have "decriminalised parking enforcement powers".