Wardens target bus lane parkers - your views online

Parking wardens could soon be riding on buses ready to jump off and hand out tickets to motorists who park in bus lanes.

The plan is part of a crackdown on drivers obstructing bus lanes and causing delays at peak hours.

Paul Davis: I wonder if these same officials will charge taxi and bus drivers that block junctions and fail to pull into their own lane when collecting customers. Too often yellow boxes are ignored by buses and taxis. Often buses pull in to bus stops at a 45 degree angle preventing other road users passinh. I’m not sure the Highway Code differentiates between road users.

Jonny Kane: Buses already have cameras. Just a wee button for the driver to take a photo is all that’s required.

Will ticketing vehicles parked in bus lanes make a difference?

Sue Campbell: I got a ticket for spending five seconds in a bus lane because my sat nav told me to turn too soon at a street end. There wasn’t a single bus around. What are we supposed to do – teleport across the bus lane? It’s a money-making scheme.

Billy McKirdy: The sooner we get a congestion charge around the city the better – get people out of their car and on to the, soon to be, comprehensive city cycle network. You know it makes sense.

Robert Solway: Are they going to hop off the buses and book all the street furniture that's clogging up our roadways?

Katrina Mcintosh: Maybe get rid of the monstrous bins that take up half the roads.

Mark Madine: There is a simple way of stopping people parking where they should not – make the minimum parking fine £500 and double that for repeat offenders. It may sound harsh but the amount of bad and just plain selfish people who just park their car anywhere they please is beyond belief. One problem we have is delivery companies come through here from Glasgow and park in bus lanes, bus stops and pretty much anywhere they like in the rush hour because they get away with it here – they do not get away with it in Glasgow. Now you will get people saying this is a war against car drivers, when in fact it is only against bad and selfish parkers. It is hard enough getting round Edinburgh and keeping your time on a bus due to roadworks and diversions without having to dodge parked cars and vans in bus lanes and bus stops. Outside the Playhouse is really bad when it only takes one car or van parked to cause chaos. Part of the problem is also the parking wardens, who I have seen just turn a blind eye and walk past them.

Alison Martin: Exactly. Leith Walk on Saturday had eight guys lifting and moving a car out of the way that was blocking the whole road. No buses, cars, delivery or emergency services could get by.

Bob Brown: Edinburgh Council want to ban all private cars using the “councils” roads but love the money that drivers generate, so come up with new ideas on a regular basis to frustrate and target private car owners.

Lee Murray: So it’s OK to install tramlines going down Leith Walk to Ocean Terminal causing businesses to close down etc yet you get people moaning because they have to sit in a bit of traffic now and again because someone is in a bus lane? Welcome to the real world. I’d happily park in a bus lane if I had to, after all it is a road and should be used by anyone with a vehicle.

Pat Murphy: I’m baffled at all this. I remember my very first driving lesson. Instructor – when driving a vehicle on a public highway you must obey all road signage, understand? Me – Yes.

Maciek Ce: Still waiting for the crackdown on potholes.

Paul Clarkson: Bus lanes cause delays by cutting off half the road, along with the poorly timed traffic lights.

Steven Psihramis: Imagine thinking that you deserve the same priority as a bus full with dozens of people.

Steven Taylor: Would a lot of the traffic jams be there if the traffic wasn’t forced into one lane at peak times? This is the council’s doing and it’ll be behind their excuse to push through a congestion charge.

Craig Jenkins: Would a lot of the traffic jams be there if the drivers were on the bus? Everyone has a tale of why their journey is more important/vital/practical. The reality is that vehicle ownership in the UK has doubled since the ’90s. Vehicles have increased in size. Yet people blame anything but the sheer volume of vehicles on the road for congestion.

Robert Howlieson: A vehicle with a parking ticket still blocks the lane. They need towed straight away.