How many bus lane Penalty Charge Notices Nottingham City Council issues, from which cameras, how much it raises — from Nottingham City Council's published open data.
463,109
PCNs issued in 5 years2021/22–2025/26
£13.65m
gross income, 5 yearsnet of costs not held
68,902
PCNs in 2025/26across 24 cameras
This page reports data published as open data by Nottingham City Council (Nottingham Data Hub — Penalty Charge Notices). Figures are the council's own. BusLaneCheck is independent and not affiliated with the council. Compare every UK authority →
Bus lane PCNs issued per yearGross PCN income per year
Bus lane penalties in Nottingham have fallen every single year, from 121,411 in 2021/22 to 68,902 in 2025/26 — down 43% over five years, and the fall is remarkably consistent. Canal Street drives most of it: its two gates issued 44,441 penalties in 2021/22 and 18,205 in 2025/26, a 59% drop, which is what compliance improving at a notorious site looks like. Income has fallen more slowly than penalty numbers because the average amount collected per penalty rose from £26.81 to £32.13 over the same period, closer to the full £60 charge.
Which cameras issue the most fines
Camera-enforced bus lane locations ranked by PCNs issued in 2025/26. The last column is the 5-year total.
Nottingham runs one of the largest camera networks outside London, and it is dominated by one street: the two Canal Street bus gates account for 176,314 penalties over five years, 38% of the city total, and the eastbound and westbound cameras are the two busiest individual sites in the city. Beck Street is third with 45,068. Enforcement is heavily concentrated in the city centre — Canal Street, Beck Street, Arkwright Street, Cheapside/Poultry and Carrington Street together issue two thirds of everything. Two camera sites here have no lane page on this site: Goldsmith Street, which the council's own mapping classifies as a tram gateway rather than a bus lane, and Shakespeare Street, which issued 3,622 penalties in 2021/22 and has been dormant since.
Challenges & appeals — do they work?
In 2025/26 drivers made 5,232 formal representations against bus lane penalties and took 693 cases to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, where 111 were allowed and 483 refused. See our guide to appealing a bus lane PCN for the grounds that win.
The fine itself
A bus lane PCN from Nottingham City Council is £60, reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days. It is a civil penalty — there are no licence points. £60, halved to £30 if paid within 14 days — the lower of the two English bus lane bands, and what all Nottingham lane pages already carry. Borne out by the payment data itself, which averages £26.81 to £32.13 per penalty across the five years.
What the council does not hold or publish
Income broken down by camera. The council publishes the amount paid on every individual penalty, so a per-camera split is possible in principle, but the figures here keep income at authority level to stay comparable with every other authority on the site.
Challenges and appeals before 2025/26. Refused under section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act as reasonably accessible elsewhere, and pointed to the council's annual Civil Enforcement Report. For 2025/26 the council did supply figures: 5,232 formal representations against bus lane penalties, and 693 appeals to the tribunal of which 111 were allowed and 483 refused.
Operating costs. The council stated it does not hold a gross or net operating-cost figure for bus lane enforcement, so the income here is gross.
The bus lanes behind these cameras
Each of these locations has a full page with operating hours, permitted vehicles and the governing traffic order: