The number of fines issued to Christchurch motorists caught parking or driving in bus lanes has doubled since 2018.

A clampdown on driving and parking in Christchurch bus lanes over the past five years has netted the city council $1.3 million from more than 11,000 fines.

More than 6000 penalties have been dished out to people caught driving in the lanes since the offence was introduced in 2018, while more than 5000 have been handed out to those parking in bus lanes since 2015.

The number of fines has more than doubled over the past two years, council figures show, which the AA said was "symptomatic of [its] continued war on motorists".

STACY SQUIRES/STUFF New bus lanes on Riccarton Rd have led to more than 3500 fines being issued to motorists in 2019.

Fines issued for parking in bus lanes jumped from 951 in 2018 to 1769 by the end of November 2019, while penalties for driving in them rose from 1870 to 4203 over the same period.

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New bus lanes on Riccarton Rd, which opened in late 2018, have proven a major money-spinner for the council, netting the authority $434,000 in just 11 months from 3539 fines for parking or driving illegally – more than 320 a month.

Across the city, drivers had to stump up $630,450 after being caught nipping into bus lanes 4203 times in 2019 – the equivalent of more than $57,000 a month, or almost $2000 a day.

STACY SQUIRES/STUFF More than 11,000 fines for parking or driving in bus lanes have been dished out in Christchurch since 2015, earning the council $1.3 million. The number issued has more than doubled since 2018 alone.

The council's transport operations manager, Steffan Thomas, said the steep rise in fines over the last two years was down to both a stricter approach to enforcement and more bus lanes being built on Riccarton Rd and Main North Rd near the Northern Motorway.

Others are planned for Main North Rd near Northlands shopping centre, with work beginning this month, and the junction of Lincoln Rd and Moorhouse Ave.

It comes amid concerns that councils across the country are using CCTV cameras to dish out hundreds of parking fines each week.

Canterbury and West Coast AA chairman Roy Hughes said the increase in fines reflected a campaign by the council to "inflict maximum cost and inconvenience on those who need to use their cars to move around the city".

Neil Macbeth Transport planner Axel Wilke applauds the council's stricter enforcement of bus lane rules.

"They have been running a constant campaign to remove kerbside car parking around the city – we are down to just 15,000 in the four avenues and there used to be 50,000," he said.

"The bus lane issue is just another part of their strategy to force everyone on to buses and bicycles.

"Our research has consistently proven time and again that for 85 per cent of people a bus or bicycle will never be a practical alternative to their car."

Transport planner Axel Wilke praised the greater emphasis on enforcement, saying it proved the council was finally getting more serious about proper use of bus lanes.

"Just the other day I saw someone filming drivers in bus lanes on Riccarton Rd. Auckland Council has been doing this for more than a decade, but it was the first time I had seen it in Christchurch.

"There is no point us investing a lot of money into building facilities and then them not being used [properly] because they are used by other people for parking or driving."

CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL Work will begin this year on new bus lanes at the junction of Lincoln Rd and Moorhouse Ave to ease congestion and encourage use of public transport.

The council is responsible for 12 bus lanes in Christchurch, which are monitored by cameras and parking wardens.

Motorists nabbed driving in one for more than 50 metres during operational times are slapped with a $150 fine, an amount set by the government, while those caught parking in a bus lane are hit with a $60 bill and another $40 if their vehicle is towed away – money which all goes back to the council.

Analysis by Stuff of bus lane fines between January 2015 and the end of November 2019 found:

- Driving in bus lanes earned the council $910,950 in 2018 and 2019 – fines were only issued for parking in bus lanes before then – with 6073 motorists being hit with penalties.

- Some 5088 drivers were fined $305,280 for parking in bus lanes over the period, with almost a third (1420) having to pay another $56,720 between them to have their vehicles towed away.

- In 2015, 781 fines were issued to people parking in bus lanes. That number had jumped to 1769 by the end of November 2019.

- Despite the council operating 12 bus lanes, driving fines have come from just three of them – Riccarton Rd (2463 fines in 2019), Main North Rd (1343) and Papanui Rd (397).

- Parking fines were issued on six roads in 2019: Riccarton Rd (1076), Papanui Rd (353), Main North Rd (292), Colombo St (31), Hills Rd (12) and Whitmore St (5).

Christchurch's bus lanes usually operate between 7am to 9am and 3pm to 6pm on week days, while those on Riccarton Rd run for 24 hours every day.

Money collected from fines, including the $40 fees for towing, carried out by contractor Parks Towing, goes to the council's parking compliance unit.