Richmond upon Thames Bus Lane Fines — PCNs, Income & Appeals
How many bus lane Penalty Charge Notices London Borough of Richmond upon Thames issues, from which cameras, how much it raises, and how often challenges succeed — from data released under Freedom of Information (ref LBR-FOI-14564 and LBR-FOI-14843).
9,721
PCNs issued in 5 years2021/22–2025/26
£705,669
gross income, 5 yearsnet of costs not held
1,814
PCNs in 2025/26across 1 camera
77%
paid at the £80 discount2025/26
6%
of challenges upheld2025/26
This page reports data released by London Borough of Richmond upon Thames under the Freedom of Information Act (LBR-FOI-14564 and LBR-FOI-14843, responded 2026-08-17). Figures are the council's own. BusLaneCheck is independent and not affiliated with the council. The source documents are linked at the foot of this page. Compare every UK authority →
Bus lane PCNs issued per yearGross PCN income per year
Heath Road doubled in its second year and has been drifting down ever since: 1,253 PCNs in 2021/22, then 2,532, 2,250, 1,872 and 1,814. Income has not tracked that fall as closely — £147,067 in 2025/26 against £127,660 the year before, on slightly fewer penalties — because a smaller share of drivers paid at the £80 discounted rate. The single busiest month in five years was August 2022, with 263 penalties. Challenging is rare and rarely works here: across five years the council received 239 formal representations against 9,721 penalties — one for every 41 — and accepted 27 of them. Of the 19 that went on to an independent adjudicator at London Tribunals, 12 were allowed, so the small number of drivers who pursue it that far have done better than those who stop at the council.
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.
All of these figures are for a single camera on Heath Road, Twickenham — and that is the whole picture for the borough, not just the part the council chose to answer. Asked directly whether any other bus lane or bus gate is camera-enforced, the council replied that Heath Road is the only such location and returned "N/A" for every other site. BusLaneCheck lists ten bus lanes in Richmond upon Thames, drawn from Transport for London's published dataset; the other nine are real restrictions that still apply and can still be ticketed by an enforcement officer in person, but none of them has a camera on it. All ten sit on borough roads rather than Transport for London's own network, so TfL is not enforcing them either. Camera enforcement on Heath Road began on 3 March 2004.
Challenges & appeals — do they work?
Formal representations to the council, and appeals to the independent London Tribunals (the Environment and Traffic Adjudicators). Drivers made 239 formal challenges over 5 years.
Year
Challenges
Upheld
Rejected
Success rate
To tribunal
2021/22
31
8
23
26%
1 (1 allowed / 0 dismissed)
2022/23
51
11
40
22%
4 (2 allowed / 2 dismissed)
2023/24
61
3
58
5%
9 (5 allowed / 4 dismissed)
2024/25
47
2
45
4%
2 (2 allowed / 0 dismissed)
2025/26
49
3
46
6%
3 (2 allowed / 1 dismissed)
The council's own figures show the share of challenges upheld went from 26% in 2021/22 to 6% in 2025/26 — so a well-grounded challenge is worth making. See our guide to appealing a bus lane PCN for the grounds that win.
The fine itself
A bus lane PCN from London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is £160, reduced to £80 if paid within 14 days. It is a civil penalty — there are no licence points. The FOI response did not restate the penalty. £160, halved to £80 within 14 days, is the London bus lane penalty already recorded on all ten Richmond lane pages, and the money reported is consistent with it: of 1,814 PCNs in 2025/26, 1,394 were paid at the £80 discount, which accounts for £111,520 of the £147,067 collected — the remaining £35,547 is about 222 penalties paid at the full £160.
What the council does not hold or publish
Every other Richmond bus lane. The council's response covered Heath Road and nothing else. It did not say whether that is because Heath Road is the borough's only camera-enforced bus lane, or because the other sites were outside what it read the request to cover, so the figures here should be treated as one camera's story rather than the borough's.
Cost of running the cameras. No figures were given for what the enforcement costs to operate, so the income below is gross. It is not what the council keeps.
The bus lanes behind these cameras
Each of these locations has a full page with operating hours, permitted vehicles and the governing traffic order: