THE AA has hit out at Glasgow City Council over the possibility of two new bus gates in the city centre.

Glasgow City Council has opened a consultation into bringing two new gates near Central Station on two roads that carry up to 360 buses an hour at peak times.

Transport bosses said the move would improve journey times for passengers and make bus services more reliable.

Despite this, calls have been made by the motoring association for the council to ensure these act only as a deterrent.

Luke Bosdet, AA spokesman, said: “Bearing in mind what has happened previously with the Nelson Mandela Place gate, the possibility of large numbers of fines from two new bus gates will send shivers down the spines of drivers in Glasgow.

“We would ask Glasgow City Council to enforce all gates fairly as this needs to be done as a deterrent, not a money making exercise.

“Over the summer an AA member picked up three bus gate fines in a matter of minutes while taking her disabled relative to an art exhibition. The council is absolutely ruthless.”

The two gates - one at Union Street for southbound traffic and the other at Oswald Street for vehicles heading north - will be for use by buses, taxis, private hire vehicles and cycles.

They will also allow access for goods and service vehicles.

Councillor Anna Richardson, City Convener for Sustainability, said: “The bus routes either side of Central Station are two of the busiest in the city and the introduction of bus gates will see significant improvements to the service on these streets.

“This proposal will lead to multiple benefits, encourage sustainable transport and protect our more vulnerable road users.”

The proposal is for bus gates to restrict access on Oswald Street between Midland Street and Argyle Street with restricted access on Union Street to be between Gordon Street and Argyle Street.

As part of the proposal, the number of disabled parking bays on West Nile Street will be increased to account for the loss of access to Union Street. Alternative routes using Wellington Street and Robertson Street for southbound vehicles and York Street and West Campbell Street for northbound vehicles are being proposed at this stage.

The introduction of the bus gates would support the Glasgow City Centre Low Emission Zone, City Centre Strategy and City Centre Transport Strategy.

Ms Richardson added: “The bus is still easily the most popular form of public transport in Glasgow, but passenger numbers are falling at a very steady rate and the bus industry is under real pressure.

“As a council, we have to do everything that we can to sustain public transport in a city where almost half of our population has no access to a car.

“Not supporting the bus sector will have long term, negative consequences for a huge swathe of Glasgow’s population and the city’s economy as a whole.

“One of the main issues for the bus operators and their passengers is the reliability of the service.

“By providing clear channels for buses to use, we can reduce delays and get closer to the target of ‘on time every time’.”

Originally proposed in the 2014 City Centre Transport Strategy, the bus gates will cut the number of vehicles and delays on these roads between 7am and 7pm each day.

This is expected to reduce emissions in one of the busiest pedestrian areas in the city centre.

A reduction in emissions is a key policy objective for the council as around 300 people are known to die every year in the city as a consequence of poor air quality.

Reduced traffic will also reduce the accident risk for pedestrians while still giving scope for deliveries to city centre’s businesses to be maintained.

The consultation will run for six weeks and responses to the proposals can be logged at www.glasgow.gov.uk/proposedtro