Bus lane contraventions
Since 1998 Ealing Council has been enforcing bus lanes within the borough. It is illegal for motorists other than buses to drive or stop in a bus lane during its operational hours.
All bus lanes are clearly marked with details of vehicle and time or day restrictions clearly marked.
Bus lane penalty charge notices (PCNs)are issued at a charge of £120, however a discounted payment of £60 will be accepted within the first 14 days only. After the 14 days the PCN will increase to the full charge of £120.
What to do if you receive a bus lane PCN:
The council will send a PCN by post to the vehicle's registered keeper within approximately 14 days from the date of the alleged contravention. In all cases it is the owner not the driver of the vehicle who is liable to pay the PCN.
Ways to pay:
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by phone using your credit card (except American Express, Electron and Diners Club) Contact: (020) 8825 6565
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in person using cash, credit and debit cards, postal orders, cheque at our parking reception
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by post using postal orders or a cheque. Send it to the address detailed on your PCN. Do not send cash in the post
Disputing a bus lane PCN within 14 days of issue date
If you wish to dispute your bus lane PCN you should do so within 14 days of the date of issue. Your PCN will then be put on hold at the discounted amount of £60. If the council responds to you and declines your challenge you will still have the option to pay £60 for 14 days only.
Disputing your bus lane PCN 14 days after the issue date
After 14 days the PCN will have progressed to its full charge of £120. If you wish to dispute your PCN at the full charge amount (£120) you can do so but only on limited grounds as listed on the reverse of your PCN. Your case will be put on hold pending a decision. If your challenge is declined you will be advised of the next stage and be asked to pay £120.
Disputing your bus lane PCN 28 days after the issue date
After 28 days an enforcement notice form (ENF) will be issued to the person Ealing Council believes to be the registered keeper of the vehicle. If you wish to make representation at the full charge amount (£120) you can do so but only on limited grounds as listed on the reverse of your enforcement notice. Your case will be put on hold pending the outcome.
If your representation is rejected, you will receive a notice of rejection letter with your notice of appeals form (NOA) for the independent adjudicator parking and traffic appeals service (PATAS). Your case will be put on hold as soon as PATAS receive your forms and notify us of this, should you decide to appeal.
However if you do neither, the case will progress and charges will increase.
After approximately 35 days of the PCN being issued it will progress to charge certificate stage.
You will receive the charge certificate in the post. The charge will be increased by 50% to £180. You have no right of appeal at this stage, you can either pay within 14 days of the issue of this notice or wait for the order for recovery and statutory declaration forms to be sent, at this stage your case will be registered with Northampton County Court* as an unpaid fine. The case will then increase by £5 as this is the court charge for registering the case. The amount to be paid will then be £185.
At this stage you must make a payment within 21 days or file the statutory declaration with Northampton County Court. You can only appeal on limited grounds on the statutory declaration:
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did not receive the enforcement notice
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made a representation and did not receive a rejection
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made an appeal to PATAS but did not receive a response
If you do not file the statutory declaration or make payment within 21 days then Ealing Council will request Northampton County Court to issue a warrant of execution, the case is then passed to Collect Services Limited our bailiff company. You will need to contact them on 0870 389 5595 to arrange payment.
You may however file an out of time statutory declaration to Northampton County Court after the 21 days. You will only be able to file this declaration if your reason for not filing the statutory declaration within the 21 days timescale is satisfactory.
Northampton County Court will then decide if they will accept your statutory declaration after the 21 days timescale has expired.
To view a video recording
If the video-print is not sufficient, an appointment can be made to view the CCTV footage of the incident. When we send out photos, we normally enclose a viewing request form which can be used to book an appointment. Alternatively viewing requests can be made by writing to: Ealing Council, PO Box 46264, London W5 2UN or by completing the attached video viewing request form (pdf) and emailing it to parkingrep@ealing.gov.uk. There is no charge for viewing the video recording.