COUNCIL bosses have been accused of targeting motorists for easy revenue after a bus lane camera caught almost 800 drivers in two days.

We reported last night how the motorists were caught on a Glasgow bus lane camera on two of the busiest days of the year.

A total of 368 fines were handed out to drivers who used the Cathedral Street bus lane between 6am and 10pm on September 14 – the day the city held its Parade of Olympic and Paralympic champions – when North Hanover Street was closed.

And two months later on November 15 – the day the Christmas lights were turned on in George Square – 429 fines were slapped on bus lane cheats when North Hanover Street was again shut by a temporary traffic order.

The fine for motorists using a bus lane is £30 - but it doubles if it is not paid within a fortnight.

The shocking number of fines issued has led to drivers calling for bus lanes to be opened up to all road users.

Bob Coles, 56, a hotel group director from Bearsden, said: "Bus lanes are rubbish and they don't work.

"At the times they are needed there are only buses and taxis in them, leaving other roads to become clogged up.

"I think they should be opened up to all traffic."

Raymond Callaghan, 52, a taxi driver from Uddingston in South Lanarkshire, said: "They do help us as taxi drivers but I think it's an easy revenue earner for the council.

"They divert all traffic to a certain road or roads so that at rush hour it can be a nightmare in parts of the city."

However, some road users and pedestrians admitted there was no excuse for motorists using bus lanes when they are in operation.

John Hunter, of the city's Maryhill, regularly cycles on Glasgow's roads.

The 45-year-old said: "Bus lanes are one of the most important things because they get people using public transport.

"If you've got 50 people on a bus then that's you getting rid of up to 50 cars from the road.

"I think bus lanes are fair and it makes sure that buses get priority.

"If people are caught driving motors in them it's their problem."

Lesley McNab, a lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University, said she occasionally drove to work but preferred to use public transport to get into the city centre from her home in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire .

The 41-year-old said: "No-one, other than bus drivers, should be driving in bus lanes - I would never do it.

"People should be trying to take public transport and that's what bus lanes encourage."

Euan Ramsay, 33, a postgraduate student who lives in the city's Trongate, said: "Bus lanes are a good thing because they encourage people to use buses.

"But I can see how drivers feel they are a problem."

Road bosses say the lanes improve bus passenger journey times and reliability.

A council spokesman said: "Driving in bus lanes has always been illegal and anyone with a driving licence should be well aware of that fact."

rachel.loxton@heraldandtimes.co.uk