More than 5000 ticketed by bus lane camera in two months

Thursday, 15 May 2025

The Cambridge Terrace bus lane and camera set up by the Wellington City Council is landing motorists who use the lane a $150 fine.

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It took just a single month for a Cambridge Terrace bus lane camera to prove itself the golden goose, ticketing more motorists in April than a camera down the road has since 2020.

Local businesses have resorted to using signs to warn people after unsuspecting drivers turning into and leaving their stores landed $150 fines.

Information obtained through a LGOIMA (Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act) request revealed 5117 residents have been ticketed so far on the intersection of Cambridge Terrace and Elizabeth St, earning the Wellington City Council $767,550 since it was installed in March.

The Cambridge Terrace bus lane camera is located on the intersection of Cambridge Terrace and Elizabeth St.

The camera earning the most for the council is a tripod on Riddiford St, which has ticketed 8876 drivers ‒ equivalent to $1.3m ‒ since its installation in 2023.

Meanwhile, down the road, a camera on Adelaide Road has in two months brought in $228,90 for the city council.

Manners St has four bus lane cameras - one earning $757,500 since 2024, and another charging only two people since October last year.

Other roads with bus lane cameras include the Pirie St tunnel and Chaytor St.

A sign inside a Gazley loan car warned customers to not drive in the left-hand lane.

Council spokesperson Richard MacLean said the bus lane cameras typically issue a large number of tickets in the first few months after they’re turned on.

“It takes a while for motorists to learn not to drive in the lanes.”

Oliver Gazley from Gazley Motors, which has car yards on Kent and Cambridge terraces, said customers were getting “hammered” by the bus lane cameras. The car yard had got at least 20 $150 tickets from people using service cars who were unaware of the bus lane fines.

They recently installed signs in loan cars warning people of a $150 fine for using the lanes.

Borit Deng from Cambridge Bakery had four warnings from driving in the bus lane before realising he was not allowed to.

There was a problem with people turning out from a side street, having to cross the bus lane to get to the lane they were allowed to be in then, if they needed to turn left again, instantly getting back into the bus lane.

Likewise, the Resene paint shop on Cambridge Tce has a sign warning tradies: “Make sure to not drive in the bus lane on Cambridge Tce when leaving $150 fine!”

Nearby at Cambridge Bakery, Borit Heng, had personally had four warnings for driving in the bus lane before realising he was not allowed to.

But the bus lane and cycle lane ‒ which took out car parks and two car lanes between them ‒ plus the removal of U-turn bays had seen business drop by half.

Amanda Holland, owner of Small Acorns and Squirrel NZ cafe on the corner of Wakefield and Blair streets, said she had heard from several of her customers about the camera.

One of her customers had pulled over by College St to pick somebody up, and travelled one metre over the allowed 50m distance.

With the new road works at the top of Courtenay Place, as well as ongoing Wakefield St road works, she felt there was not much tolerance from council.

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