Freedom of Information Request – Bus Lane PCN Cancellations & De Minimis Appeals
Request ID: FOI-3530-2425 Date published: 28 February 2025
You asked
Dear TFL,
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would like to request information regarding bus lane PCNs, particularly concerning discretionary cancellations and whether there are any trends related to vehicle type or driver characteristics.
1. De Minimis Appeals
— In the last 12 months, how many bus lane PCNs were appealed on the basis that the contravention was de minimis (ie: turn left/right on a bus lane when there is heavy traffic jam ahead and no bus in the bus lane)?
— How many of these appeals were successful and led to the cancellation of the PCN? How many were rejected?
— Does TfL have any official guidance or internal policies on when a de minimis argument should result in cancellation? If so, please provide a copy.
2. PCN Cancellations & Vehicle Data
— Does TfL record the make and model of vehicles receiving bus lane PCNs?
— If so, in the last 12 months, what percentage of bus lane PCN appeals (on de minimis grounds) that were rejected involved higher end vehicles (e.g., BBA, EVs)?
3. PCN Cancellations & Driver Details
— Does TfL collect any demographic information (such as race, gender, or nationality) of drivers appealing bus lane PCNs (on de minimis)?
— If this data is recorded, how many bus lane PCN appeals (on de minimis grounds) were accepted vs. rejected for each demographic group in the last 12 months?
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your response within the statutory 20 working days.
We answered
Our ref: FOI-3530-2425/GH
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 3 February 2025 asking for information about Bus Lane PCNs.
Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold some of the information you require.
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would like to request information regarding bus lane PCNs, particularly concerning discretionary cancellations and whether there are any trends related to vehicle type or driver characteristics.
1. De Minimis Appeals
— In the last 12 months, how many bus lane PCNs were appealed on the basis that the contravention was de minimis (ie: turn left/right on a bus lane when there is heavy traffic jam ahead and no bus in the bus lane)?
— How many of these appeals were successful and led to the cancellation of the PCN? How many were rejected?
We do not record representations received to that level of specificity. Therefore, in order to answer this we would have to look into each bus lane PCN representation to see if it was challenged on the basis of the contravention being de minimis. For the 12 months of 2024 we issued over 58,000 bus lane PCNs, and received over 9,000 representations.
To look at each of these and compile the requested information would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with requests if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. In this instance, we estimate that the time required to answer your request would exceed 18 hours which, at £25 per hour (the rate stipulated by the Regulations), exceeds the ‘appropriate limit’.
— Does TfL have any official guidance or internal policies on when a de minimis argument should result in cancellation? If so, please provide a copy.
The table below outlines our policy when a motorist challenges a PCN and state that they only travelled in a bus lane for a minimal distance or time.
Type
Scenario
Required Evidence/Action
First Rep Rule Applicable Y/N
Case Escalation Required
Further evidence
Decision
First rep Y/N
Reject code
Accept Code
Cancellation Code
Bus Lane
States they only just strayed into / clipped the BL momentarily whilst driving the vehicle
Note: does not include the use of the end of a bus lane
CCTV images / footage shows the vehicle crossed into the BL and had travelled for less than 20 metres approx through the BL
Y
N
N
Accept
Y
N/A
A017 Contravetion did not occur
CAN020 Contravention did not occur (CCTV error)
CCTV images / footage shows the vehicle crossed into the BL and travelled for 20 metres approx or more through the BL
N
N
N
Reject
Y
R080- Restriction did not apply
N/A
N/A
Bus Lane
States they only just strayed into / clipped the end of the BL momentarily whilst driving the vehicle
CCTV images / footage shows the vehicle crossed into the BL less than 20 metres approx from the end of the BL
Y
N
N
Accept
Y
N/A
A017 Contravetion did not occur
CAN020 Contravention did not occur (CCTV error)
CCTV images / footage shows the vehicle crossed into the BL in excess of 20 metres approx from the end of the BL
N
N
N
Reject
Y
R080- Restriction did not apply
N/A
N/A
2. PCN Cancellations & Vehicle Data
— Does TfL record the make and model of vehicles receiving bus lane PCNs?
Yes
— If so, in the last 12 months, what percentage of bus lane PCN appeals (on de minimis grounds) that were rejected involved higher end vehicles (e.g., BBA, EVs)?
As we do not record the reason why the representations were appealed to that level of specificity, we do not hold the data for representations which were rejected which involved higher end vehicles.
3. PCN Cancellations & Driver Details
— Does TfL collect any demographic information (such as race, gender, or nationality) of drivers appealing bus lane PCNs (on de minimis)?
No
— If this data is recorded, how many bus lane PCN appeals (on de minimis grounds) were accepted vs. rejected for each demographic group in the last 12 months?
See above – we do not hold this information.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
