About seven people an hour are landed with a £60 Huddersfield bus gate fine, Kirklees Council has revealed.
The Examiner reported last week that the unpopular bus gates are here to stay.
A key report, set to be rubber stamped by the council’s cabinet on Tuesday, said they had achieved their aims of cutting congestion, reducing air pollution and speeding up bus journeys.
It found that problems with declining trade could be traced to a number of issues and bus gates were not solely to blame.
Now Kirklees Council has told the Examiner that on average 68 people a day were issued fines during the final three months of the first year of operation.
The gates are operational for 10 hours per day – 8am to 6pm – around Westgate, Kirkgate and St George’s Square.
They are on between 10am and 4pm on High Street near the bus station and town hall.
Between March 26, 2016 and March 9 this year the council issued 28,512 fines.
The average issued per day reduced from 107 in the first three months of operation to 68 in the last three months of operation, with the majority being issued around the train station.
Cabinet member Clr Peter McBride, said: “The report demonstrates that the issues in the town centre are complex and that no one factor can be held responsible for the pressures town centre businesses face.
“The way we shop as a nation has changed, and towns across the UK, but particularly in the North, are facing a reduction in footfall and are having to adapt to the ever changing retail landscape.
“As a council we are committed to ensuring our town centres are pleasant places to visit, and I am pleased that we have seen a reduction in pollution in the town centre.
“Air quality is a real concern for local people and has a significant impact on our health so anything that helps improve it has to be a benefit.”
Joint portfolio holder Clr Naheed Mather added: “Bringing in the bus gates was a controversial decision and I am glad that we have taken time to assess the impact.
“The bus gates were brought in to enforce existing traffic regulations, which were unfortunately being ignored.
“The result of the decision to enforce is that we now have a more pedestrian friendly town centre and I believe that we should all be working together to capitalise on that.”
