About this bus gate
This bus gate is watched by a camera and is the busiest enforcement point in Staffordshire. It restricts the Wobaston Road entrance to the i54 South Staffordshire business park so that the route into the site is kept for buses.
It operates 24 hours a day. Local buses, pedal cycles and motorcycles may go through — motorcycles are unusual to find named, and they are named here.
Taxis are not: the order makes no exemption for hackney carriages or for private hire vehicles, so a minicab or a black cab is caught along with cars, vans and lorries. That is worth reading twice, because in answering the same request the council said in a covering letter that private hire vehicles are exempt at all five of its camera sites, which the order for this one does not bear out.
Where the letter and the order disagree, the order is the law. It is the county’s oldest camera-enforced site — the council began issuing penalties here in May 2015 — and it accounted for 2,875 of the 7,245 penalties issued across the whole county in 2021.
Staffordshire County Council’s bus lane pages still state a £60 penalty reduced to £30 within 14 days, but its own penalty records show £70 charged on every notice from 2023 onward, reduced to £35 for early payment; £60/£30 applied up to 2022. The council has confirmed the current charge is £70, halved to £35, but would not say what date the increase took effect, so check the amount printed on the notice itself.
Penalties are processed for Staffordshire by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, so a Staffordshire bus lane PCN is paid and challenged through Stoke’s parking service and the notice number begins “GE”. The order is the Staffordshire County Council (Innovation Drive, Pendeford) (Buses, Pedal Cycles and Motor Cycles Only) Order 2014, which provides that “no person shall cause or permit any vehicle other than a local bus, pedal cycle or motor cycle to enter, proceed or be in” the length of road specified, subject only to exemptions for road maintenance, utility works, the emergency services and the universal postal service.
Transcribed from Staffordshire County Council’s response to freedom of information request F0038517, answered on 4 September 2026, which supplied the traffic regulation orders for the county’s camera-enforced sites, and from its earlier response F0037975, 21 August 2026, which lists those sites with the month enforcement began at each.
Who can use it
- Local buses
- Pedal cycles
- Motorcycles
Not permitted
- Cars
- Vans
- Lorries
- Taxis
- Private hire vehicles
Where exactly is it?
Innovation Drive, at the i54 South Staffordshire entrance off the Wobaston Road roundabout, Pendeford. View on Google Maps →
Got a PCN from this camera?
Don't panic, and don't ignore it. Pay £35 within 14 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 Innovation Drive bus gate?
The Innovation Drive Bus Gate, i54 Pendeford in Staffordshire operates all day (24 hours). There is no time of day when general traffic may use it.
How much is the fine for driving through the Innovation Drive bus gate?
Staffordshire County Council issues a Penalty Charge Notice of £70, reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days. There are no penalty points — it is a civil penalty.
Who is allowed to use the Innovation Drive bus gate?
Local buses, pedal cycles and motorcycles are permitted. Not permitted: cars, vans, lorries, taxis and private hire vehicles.
Can I appeal a PCN from the Innovation Drive bus gate?
Yes, and it costs nothing. Make formal representations to Staffordshire County Council first — the authority that issued the PCN has to consider them before it can enforce the penalty. If Staffordshire County 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.