About this bus gate
Private vehicles are prohibited here at all times — one of Liverpool's strictest bus-only links, right by the station.
Liverpool City Council's current ANPR camera locations list confirms this exactly: "no entry except for local buses, 24hrs/7days a week" — unlike the neighbouring Lime Street bus lane, taxis are not exempt here. The council enforces it under its moving-traffic-offence powers rather than as a bus lane, which is why it does not appear on the council's bus lane locations table or in the bus lane penalty figures it released under Freedom of Information.
The penalty a driver receives is the same £70. The council has since confirmed that directly.
Asked to list every camera-enforced bus lane and bus gate in the city, it named only two — Ranelagh Street and Irvine Street — and classified this link not as a bus lane or bus gate at all but as a bus-only road, enforced as a moving traffic offence. The restriction itself is unchanged: local buses only, at every hour of every day.
Transcribed also from Liverpool City Council’s response to request FOI-2026-2017, answered 20 August 2026, which describes the restriction as “No Entry except local buses”, calls the link a bus-only road rather than a code 34J bus lane, and renders its operating period as “25 hours a day, 7 days a week” — the council’s own wording, read here as the round-the-clock restriction the rest of its evidence describes.
Transcribed from the council's "Moving traffic offences" camera list, retrieved August 2026.
Who can use it
- Buses
Not permitted
- Cars
- Vans
- Taxis
- Motorcycles
- Private hire vehicles
Where exactly is it?
Lime Street Bus Link, between Skelhorne Street and St George's Place, Liverpool city centre. View on Google Maps →
Got a PCN from this camera?
Don't panic, and don't ignore it. Pay £35 within 21 days to halve the charge — or if the signage was unclear, the details are wrong, or you had a genuine reason to be in the lane, consider challenging it first. Our step-by-step appeal guide covers the grounds that actually win.
Frequently asked questions
What are the operating times of the Lime Street Bus Link bus gate?
The Lime Street Bus Link Bus Gate in Liverpool operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is no time of day when general traffic may use it.
How much is the fine for driving through the Lime Street Bus Link bus gate?
Liverpool City Council issues a Penalty Charge Notice of £70, reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days. There are no penalty points — it is a civil penalty.
Who is allowed to use the Lime Street Bus Link bus gate?
Buses are permitted. Not permitted: cars, vans, taxis, motorcycles and private hire vehicles.
Can I appeal a PCN from the Lime Street Bus Link bus gate?
Yes, and it costs nothing. Make formal representations to Liverpool City Council first — the authority that issued the PCN has to consider them before it can enforce the penalty. If Liverpool City Council rejects them it must issue a Notice of Rejection, and you can then appeal free to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. Its adjudicators are lawyers independent of the enforcing authority, and their decision is binding on both sides. This bus gate operates 24 hours, so "I was outside the operating times" is not open to you — the grounds that win here are that your vehicle was exempt, that the details on the PCN are wrong, or that the approach signage did not give enough warning before the point of no return. Note that paying the £35 discounted rate accepts liability and closes the case, so challenge before you pay.