I was with my wife (She was driving, officer. It’s her car!) on our recent trip to Wellington when we popped around a corner in Newtown and followed the car in front of us … right into, apparently, a Bus Lane.
We spotted a bloke in a hi-visibility jacket (I think that’s the whole point of those) and saw he was taking pictures … of the two or three cars ahead of us AND OUR CAR. (Groan.)
That happened to me in Newmarket once, again by accident (I swear!) during the height of the controversial bus-lane-revenue-raising by the Auckland City Council where ‘Zere is no excuse. Ve will accept no complaintz!’ was the posture adopted.
Fine: $150, thank you very much.
So, it was a nice surprise to see the far more humane (and educational) approach taken in Wellington:
Good on them. Sensible.
– P
I think there was such a huge uproar regarding the revenue collecting aspect of these fines that they started giving out warnings instead, awhile back.
I used to get caught on the bus lane camera in Khyber Pass in New Market all the time back when i lived in Mt Eden…and still i have no choice but to go in the bus lane in Symonds Street near the Langhalm in order to turn in to Wakefield Street every day. If i don’t go in the bus lane then i can’t turn.
That diagram up there is lovely. What it has left out though – is all the other traffic on the road that makes it a lot more complicated.
‘zactly! – P
Does this mean there’s hope for me? I parked in a sparsely populated parking building in Wellington while I had coffee with some friends. I paid $6 for an hour and a half (plenty of time for a coffee, I thought) but I returned 8 minutes too late to find I had a $65 parking fine. Isn’t there some law about disproportionate penalties? Cruel and unusual punishment?
I think you are doomed, Graeme.
By coincidence (and it triggered my thought to share this waring notice) I heard a Wellington traffic warden spokesman on the radio (yesterday?) explaining how they like to give warnings if people are in the car e.g. parked on a bus stop, but if your car is ‘unaccompanied’ … it’s ticket time, baby!
– P