More than half of the drivers were snared by a camera at the bus gate at Brazen Gate, off Queens Road, in the city centre.

The bus gate at Brazen Gate, near Sainsbury's, was where the most drivers were caught (Image: Denise Bradley)

There were 4,418 fines issued to drivers flouting the rules at that bus gate, close to the Sainsbury's supermarket.

Of the penalty notices issued, 3,383 were paid, generating just under £120,000 for Norfolk County Council.

The bus gate only operates for two hours on weekdays, from 7.30am until 9.30am.

Bus lane penalty charge notices are £70, which are reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days.

The other cameras which monitor bus gates and bus lanes are in St Stephens Street, Albion Way, Earlham Green Lane, Rampant Horse Street and White Horse Lane on the road to Trowse.

Nearly 10,000 motorists were caught driving in bus lanes or going through bus gates (Image: Denise Bradley)

In total, between October 2023 and October 2024, 9,683 fines were issued at all the gates, with 6,611 paid.

At the Albion Way bus gate, near Morrisons and the Riverside Leisure Centre, 1,633 caught drivers paid out just over £40,000.

In Rampant Horse Street, 870 drivers paid about £31,000, while 761 motorists who were caught in the St Stephens Street bus lane stumped up more than £25,000.

At Earlham Green Lane in Bowthorpe, nearly 322 motorists were issued with fines, paying close to £12,000.

A camera at White Horse Lane in Bixley, which leads to Trowse, caught 32 motorists going through the bus gate, but "operational issues" meant it was only working in February and March.

Drivers challenged the notices in 1,088 of the cases and 459 were subsequently cancelled.

Penalty charge notices can be cancelled for a number of reasons, such as technical errors in processing the notice or the driver having a valid reason for being in the bus gate - such as being the driver of a private hire vehicle permitted to use them.

The number of drivers caught has fallen on last year, when 9,877 penalty notices were issued, with just shy of £251,000 paid in fines.

The figures were obtained using the Freedom of Information Act and come at a time when Norfolk County Council is putting in new cameras.

A new one is now operational at White Horse Lane, while one is trained on the bus lane in Thorpe Road in Norwich.

A camera is up and running at the bus lane at Overstrand Road in Cromer, while three more cameras will be switched on in the spring.

Those will be at Hardings Way and Saddlebow Road in King's Lynn and at Flag Cutters Way in Horsford.

Graham Plant, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for highways, transport and infrastructure (Image: Sonya Duncan)

Graham Plant, the council's cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, said: "Bus lanes and bus gates help us to manage the flow of vehicles on our road network which in turn improves air quality in the local area.

"By helping buses to avoid more congested sections of road, bus lanes help to improve journey times and reliability of the service.

"As we have seen from recent results, that improves passenger satisfaction with services and means more people are choosing to use the bus.

"Income from penalty charge notices offsets the cost of running the service and any surplus is invested in highway maintenance and wider transport-related improvement schemes."

© Eastern Daily Press