Transport (Scotland) Act 2001

44 Civil penalties for bus lane contraventions

(1) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make provision for or in connection with—

(a) the imposition by approved local authorities of charges in respect of bus lane contraventions; and

(b) the payment of such charges.

(2) An authority is an approved local authority if—

(a) an order designating the whole or any part of their area has been made under paragraph 1(1)(d) or 2(1)(c) of Schedule 3 to the Road Traffic Act 1991 (c. 40) (permitted and special parking areas outside London); and

(b) the Scottish Ministers have made an order specifying them as an approved local authority for the purposes of this section.

(3) A bus lane contravention is a contravention of any such provision of—

(a) a traffic regulation order;

(b) an experimental traffic order; or

(c) a temporary traffic restriction order,

as relates to the use of an area of road which is or forms part of a bus lane.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3) above, an area of road is or forms part of a bus lane if the order in question provides that it may be used—

(a) only by buses; or

(b) only by buses and some other class or classes of traffic specified in the order.

(5) Regulations under subsection (1) above shall include provision—

(a) for the setting of the rates of charges (which may include provision for surcharges or discounts) by approved local authorities;

(b) that any rates set by virtue of paragraph (a) above shall be effective only if they have been approved by the Scottish Ministers;

(c) specifying that any charge shall be paid—

(i) by the registered keeper of the motor vehicle; or

(ii) in such circumstances as may be specified in the regulations, by such other person as may be so specified;

(d) permitting the imposition of a charge only on the basis of a record produced by an approved device;

(e) securing that a charge in respect of a bus lane contravention shall not require to be paid, or shall be refunded, where—

(i) the contravention is the subject of criminal proceedings; or

(ii) a fixed penalty notice has been given in respect of the contravention; and

(f) that any sums paid by way of charges to an approved local authority shall be available only for application by such authority for the purpose of directly or indirectly facilitating the achievement of policies in such authority’s local transport strategy.

(6) Regulations under subsection (1) above may—

(a) specify exemptions from charges; and

(b) make provision about the keeping of accounts, and the preparation and publication of statements of account, relating to sums paid by way of charges.

(7) The Scottish Ministers may make regulations about the notification, adjudication and enforcement of charges.

(8) Regulations under subsection (7) above may include—

(a) provision creating criminal offences to be triable summarily and punishable with a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or such lower amount as may be prescribed by the regulations; and

(b) provision for or in connection with permitting sufficient evidence of a fact to be given by the production of a record produced by an approved device with a certificate as to the circumstances in which the record was produced,

but may not confer power to stop motor vehicles.

(9) In this section—

• “approved device” means a device of a description specified in an order made for the purposes of this section by the Scottish Ministers;

• “experimental traffic order” means an order under section 9 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (c. 27);

• “fixed penalty notice” has the same meaning as in Part III of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (c. 53); and

• “temporary traffic restriction order” means an order under section 14 or 16A of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (c. 27).