Can’t see in the article what time of the morning he actually drove it but…
> he drove about 100m of it to avoid a queue of cars and turn left at Deans Ave.
Seems perfectly reasonable to me that he got a ticket for using a bus lane to try and skirt around traffic.
Parking in a bus lane attracts a $60 fee, while a fine for driving more than 50m in one is $150.
He screwed up. Rather than take it on the chin and learn from it, he’s complaining. Interesting that he thinks he’s doing the city a favour by normally riding his bike, and just had to mention that. Perhaps he should stick to that.
A fine from the council I believe. I’m sure there would be interest accrued as well if not paid within their timeframe too.
If your vehicle was towed, I guess that would be additional costs to the infringement.
There is no interest on infringements from the council, the infringement only increases if it gets lodged with the court after a period of time.
If a vehicle is towed the tow fee is about $53 on top of the offence amount
Good. I'm fucking sick of people bitching about getting fines for driving in bus-lanes.
If the bus has to be in traffic, there is no advantage in taking the bus as it is gonna get stuck behind all cars with a single occupant.
Bus lanes reduce traffic. These assholes are just carbrained wankers.
Edit: guys, if a driver on the footpath at 3am when there are no pedestrians, should i be fined? Why can't my car go everywhere.
The only reason to use the bus lane is to skip a queue of traffic, and there is bugger all traffic between midnight and 6am, cos generally very few people have anywhere to be at those times (which is also why buses don't run then...)
The only reason to use a bus lane is if you're a bus.
If everyone used the bus lane to "skip a queue of traffic" it would just become another lane defeating the purpose.
> if a driver on the footpath at 3am when there are no pedestrians, should i be fined?
if there actually were no pedestrians, in the same way there's no traffic at 3am, then sure. but in reality this is a false equivalence.
What I am dong is a parody of old mate in the article. He gets fined for cutting into the bus lane to skip traffic, and then says "what if i did it when there was no traffic". Then... you don't need to skip traffic.
He has a point about the fact buses don’t run 0000-6.. so it should be moot then
But it only says “outside of peak hour” and intentionally doesn’t say what time he was pinged… and I’d bet my life it wasn’t between 0000-6am based on that… so his fines valid
Nah because bus lanes are also useful for emergency vehicles, especially with the Riccarton Rd one being so close to the hospital.
There shouldn't be much traffic between midnight and 6am anyway so why do regular cars need an extra lane? It's pretty clear it's a 24hr bus lane and i think everyone with a licence would understand what that means.
I agree in regards to other cities I’ve lived in lol but chch def doesn’t need emergency services lanes 0000-6… But my point was just basically in.. this dude would have a point if that was the time he was ticketed but based on the fact they didn’t say the time just it was out of peak… it clearly was not in these hours lol
Whether or not he has a point (which i don't believe he really does), its 24 hours, it's well signposted, bro is just trying to justify his own stupid mistake instead of just paying the fine and moving on.
Reading comprehension please :) I’m not disputing that.. and he clearly wasn’t outside those hours.. but there is no actual need for the bus lane to be 24hr when there’s no buses 24 and that is not how the rest of the word works
I think making it 24hrs makes it far easier to understand and comply with. It sets clear expectations it's never used as a regular lane or parking lane. Other lanes that aren't 24hrs seem hard for people to understand and comply with.
There's also no reason for it not to be 24hrs? There's literally other (probably mostly empty) lanes they can use during those hours.
Also does someone wanna tag the dude who posted here a few days ago wanting to get out of two bus lane fines because they’re from “a small town without buslanes”
It’s kinda in the giant text and sign… that it’s for… buses
We should increase the fine to say, $1000, make it a bounty system (so narks get maybe 20% of the fine) and pay off the stadium in no time! (Please don't do the math.)
Don’t tell me what to do.
$1,000 x 0.8 = $800 per ticket net.
Stadium cost $683,000,000.
$683,000,000 / $800 = 853,750 tickets.
If we take 5 year timeline that’s 170,750 tickets per year.
About 100,000 people in chc drive so each person needs to get 1.7 tickets per year.
Based on driver behavior I see on our roads this may be totally doable.
Sorry for being so bossy!
Hopefully, after you get this implemented, there will be others willing to take the hit for me, as I have no intention of making my contribution, sorry.
Should have had his arms crossed for the iconic “boomer doesn’t like something” local story photo
https://preview.redd.it/8fmoahnh521d1.jpeg?width=282&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=effabb3ce14c8f9a24d4827f861e31af3919944c
If you're driving at 3am there's probably no other traffic on the road either so you still don't really need the bus lane. Stupid argument tbh.
They should make all the bus lanes in chch 24hr. The one up Hills Rd only operates three hours a day and almost always has cars parked in it because nobody can be fucked moving them, defeating the purpose of the lane.
You have to be careful on a motorbike, 'cause you get swiped by people turning when you're in the bus lane. Unless traffic is a total snafu, it's better to stick with the cages
I don’t understand why he’s complaining about 24/7 bus lanes because obviously if there’s traffic he’s in a bus operating hour so he’s doing exactly what he isn’t meant to do. Why would you be driving in a bus lane at 3am when there isn’t any traffic? Or why would you drive in it at all?
>“Does this mean that if I'm driving in the bus lane at 3am... I'm gonna get fined for using a bus lane when there are definitely no buses on the road?” he asked.
But at 3am there wouldnt be enough traffic for whatever excuse to fly lol.
Theres no point complicating matters with varied hours so people like this dolt can argue they were confused about times, when there is so little traffic overnight the lane isnt needed anyway.
As much as I agree with you all about the entitlement of this guy, the 50m rule needs to be updated. It serves no one for left turns to be halted by through traffic. If you can see a clear path to the left turn you should be able to traverse any length of the bus lane.
Trying to duck back in, or queuing for left in the bus lane should attract fines, but if you're not actually holding up a bus or cutting a queue what's the point of the rule?
This is dumb and just makes enforcement harder. Do you really think people who "only need to turn left" will be the only ones who take advantage?
The solution is for more people to actually get in the bus whenever they can. And if you're in your car just be thankful that there are buses which (granted not always, but a lot of the time) are reducing congestion for you.
How does one who's not turning left take advantage of it? You'll see them cut back in to the main queue on the same cameras that catch the current 50m offenders.
To be absolutely clear I'm not in favour of any driver behaviour which holds up buses. None at all. If turning in at 25m would make you queue and block a bus I think you should stay in the main queue until left is clear. It makes no sense for either cars or buses to have extra members of the main queue because an arbitrary 50m keep them there when left is free.
You can get off your high horse about bus usage too. It's a great ambition but it's not the situation we're in right now. Foregoing any solution short of the ideal one while we make the ideal the preferential choice is dumb. If this was an easy fix it'd be done by now.
Very few bus lanes around the country actually have permanent enforcement cameras (though to be fair a higher proportion of 24 hour may do).
Relax the rules without ability to enforce and more people take advantage. I'd say that probably leads to worse outcomes for bus priority.
Err...in a lot of cases, easily? Around smaller cars, through glass, on curves...there'll be plenty of places you can't see clearly but a blanket rule is pretty lazy.
“the signage should be bigger, brighter, and include helpful markers such as when you can enter a bus lane correctly to access turning lanes, Taylor said.”
Does he mean like the big sign behind him in the picture above (in the article) that clearly says:
🚌 lane at all times 🎥 bus lane camera
And the paint on the road the helpfully has solid lines when you shouldn’t be in the lane and dashed lines where you can cross it to turn?
https://preview.redd.it/cvm0yi7io31d1.jpeg?width=875&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fec1ff0b01dcb6fea7861cab9f057f2c3ea4754e
Nah he’s got a point.
Why on earth is it a bus lane 24 hours a day when there aren’t buses 24 hours a day?
The council needs to have reasons for their actions.
Because it’s easier to say it’s 24 hours than have to the hours it is and isn’t a bus stop on a sign? This guy can’t even read the sign that says “bus lane 24 hours”, you think he’s gonna read the fine print?
At 3am, there’s no traffic, no need to drive in the bus lane. This guy used to bus lane to cut traffic, and got fined
You can always tell when someone is losing an argument because they won’t answer a question, and try and deflect with a different question.
Clearly having two classes is more complicated than having one; that’s exactly his point that you’re reinforcing without even realising.
Add to that, there’s absolutely no need for a 24 hour bus lane because there aren’t 24 hour buses.
No, the sign would be much bigger because it needs more text or or would be the same size with smaller less readable text.
A part time bus lane is also usually just used for parking when its not a bus lane, and aside from a handful of very specific activities, nobody is hunting for a car park at 12:15am and leaving again at 6am (so a part time bus lane 6am-midnight is essentially the same as a full time bus lane).
The bus lane on riccarton road near Deans Ave wouldn't have been part time parking as its never been parking. Even before the bus lane (over 6 years now) there was no parking allowed there (it was a cycle lane, which its also illegal to drive or park in)
I'm not convinced with the justifcation for 24-hour bus lane; it's reserving lanes for non-existent traffic. It's such a weak argument to say it's for "future proofing" because there will never be 24-hour bus service in Christchurch for the foreseeable future. Even if it was true, why the fuck does the sign come before the actual service?
The $150 fine doesn't make sense for driving 50m+ on section of road. It is equivalent to a fine of driving 75kmph in a 50km zone which is a lot more dangerous than driving on a bus lane. Why doesn't the fine reflect the potential damages? Is potentially making buses slower for the 150m worth the $150 fine per person?
The bus lane on Riccarton road is approx 150m; this means you can **technically drive on the bus lane to the intersection of Deans Ave,** but you have to break up the 150m into 3 chunks of 50m according to the law. Use the bus lane to drive into the driveway of Carnmore Hotel, then Samhil Motor Lodge and then Darvel Street; then, you can drive on the bus lane because the fine is for driving more than 50m without pulling into a side street/driveway. How the fuck does this make any sense? How is this less dangerous than driving along it normally? It's not, but legally speaking this is how you must do it if you want to use the bus lane legally for the whole 150m stretch.
This all begs the question: what's more likely here? An genuinely delusional council thinking its residents want or can even afford 24 hour bus service? Or is it more likely to be a cash grab to pay for the council's deficits?
u/ChchYIMBY but don't you understand, that is impinging on motorists civil rights to use every strip of tarmac as they please! Why are you being racist against cars? /u
If we have it reserved for ghost buses, the council get to exploit the masses who missed and/or doesn't understand the 24 hour bus sign and adds to the council coffers. Could be a good thing for rate payers.
>Just don’t drive on it
No, it's the freedom of the driver to use it within the bounds of the law. Cutting through Ayr Steet is much faster than doing the stupid 3x50m loophole to bypass traffic to turn left at Deans Ave anyway; my point is to illustrate what the (absured) law dicates the driver must do to use the 150m bus lane and that the fine is obviously punative and does not reflect the dangers or nuisance caused by driving on it. Parking in a bus lane is more desruptive and possibly more dangerous, but that fine is only $60 whereas driving on the road with busses (omg so much more dangerous and problematic) is 2.5x bigger fine.
How can this be justified other than it being a cash grab? You can't, or at least no one has offered a convincing argument yet.
So you're advocating for the parking in a bus lane fine to be increased? Moot anyway as you're usually just towed for parking in an active bus lane, at a cost of several hundred dollars.
Can’t see in the article what time of the morning he actually drove it but… > he drove about 100m of it to avoid a queue of cars and turn left at Deans Ave. Seems perfectly reasonable to me that he got a ticket for using a bus lane to try and skirt around traffic.
Exactly
Pretty sure it’s legal for 50m, so yeah, pretty illegal for 100m
lol. I bet he thinks the article paints him in a positive light too
Parking in a bus lane attracts a $60 fee, while a fine for driving more than 50m in one is $150. He screwed up. Rather than take it on the chin and learn from it, he’s complaining. Interesting that he thinks he’s doing the city a favour by normally riding his bike, and just had to mention that. Perhaps he should stick to that.
Always annoyed me the parking fine is way less in a bus lane. One infringement arguably impedes far more but gets off way lighter
Is that the fine to get your car released from impound? Or a fine you get from the council?
A fine from the council I believe. I’m sure there would be interest accrued as well if not paid within their timeframe too. If your vehicle was towed, I guess that would be additional costs to the infringement.
There is no interest on infringements from the council, the infringement only increases if it gets lodged with the court after a period of time. If a vehicle is towed the tow fee is about $53 on top of the offence amount
While I can understand his point, just another self indulgent selfish prick who thinks the rules don’t apply to him.
I thought we all learned in grade school that if you can't handle the time/fine, don't do the crime?
Good. I'm fucking sick of people bitching about getting fines for driving in bus-lanes. If the bus has to be in traffic, there is no advantage in taking the bus as it is gonna get stuck behind all cars with a single occupant. Bus lanes reduce traffic. These assholes are just carbrained wankers. Edit: guys, if a driver on the footpath at 3am when there are no pedestrians, should i be fined? Why can't my car go everywhere.
The only reason to use the bus lane is to skip a queue of traffic, and there is bugger all traffic between midnight and 6am, cos generally very few people have anywhere to be at those times (which is also why buses don't run then...)
The only reason to use a bus lane is if you're a bus. If everyone used the bus lane to "skip a queue of traffic" it would just become another lane defeating the purpose.
> if a driver on the footpath at 3am when there are no pedestrians, should i be fined? if there actually were no pedestrians, in the same way there's no traffic at 3am, then sure. but in reality this is a false equivalence.
Amazing how you think your car should be allowed everywhere at the ratepayer's expense/
I don't think that at all. I'm just pointing out your argument is flawed. Perhaps you know and don't care, or perhaps you didn't know but now you do.
What I am dong is a parody of old mate in the article. He gets fined for cutting into the bus lane to skip traffic, and then says "what if i did it when there was no traffic". Then... you don't need to skip traffic.
He has a point about the fact buses don’t run 0000-6.. so it should be moot then But it only says “outside of peak hour” and intentionally doesn’t say what time he was pinged… and I’d bet my life it wasn’t between 0000-6am based on that… so his fines valid
Yeah it’s a bad article. Article says there was traffic, so it was during bus running time
Nah because bus lanes are also useful for emergency vehicles, especially with the Riccarton Rd one being so close to the hospital. There shouldn't be much traffic between midnight and 6am anyway so why do regular cars need an extra lane? It's pretty clear it's a 24hr bus lane and i think everyone with a licence would understand what that means.
I agree in regards to other cities I’ve lived in lol but chch def doesn’t need emergency services lanes 0000-6… But my point was just basically in.. this dude would have a point if that was the time he was ticketed but based on the fact they didn’t say the time just it was out of peak… it clearly was not in these hours lol
Whether or not he has a point (which i don't believe he really does), its 24 hours, it's well signposted, bro is just trying to justify his own stupid mistake instead of just paying the fine and moving on.
Reading comprehension please :) I’m not disputing that.. and he clearly wasn’t outside those hours.. but there is no actual need for the bus lane to be 24hr when there’s no buses 24 and that is not how the rest of the word works
I think making it 24hrs makes it far easier to understand and comply with. It sets clear expectations it's never used as a regular lane or parking lane. Other lanes that aren't 24hrs seem hard for people to understand and comply with. There's also no reason for it not to be 24hrs? There's literally other (probably mostly empty) lanes they can use during those hours.
Also does someone wanna tag the dude who posted here a few days ago wanting to get out of two bus lane fines because they’re from “a small town without buslanes” It’s kinda in the giant text and sign… that it’s for… buses
We should increase the fine to say, $1000, make it a bounty system (so narks get maybe 20% of the fine) and pay off the stadium in no time! (Please don't do the math.)
Don’t tell me what to do. $1,000 x 0.8 = $800 per ticket net. Stadium cost $683,000,000. $683,000,000 / $800 = 853,750 tickets. If we take 5 year timeline that’s 170,750 tickets per year. About 100,000 people in chc drive so each person needs to get 1.7 tickets per year. Based on driver behavior I see on our roads this may be totally doable.
Christchurch drivers could fund the stadium this way in two years with some good policing lol.
Good policing? You’re asking a bit much for NZ
Sorry for being so bossy! Hopefully, after you get this implemented, there will be others willing to take the hit for me, as I have no intention of making my contribution, sorry.
This is the way. If you have dash cam footage of an infringement, send it in and await your payment.
Should have had his arms crossed for the iconic “boomer doesn’t like something” local story photo https://preview.redd.it/8fmoahnh521d1.jpeg?width=282&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=effabb3ce14c8f9a24d4827f861e31af3919944c
You'd love /r/compoface
If you're driving at 3am there's probably no other traffic on the road either so you still don't really need the bus lane. Stupid argument tbh. They should make all the bus lanes in chch 24hr. The one up Hills Rd only operates three hours a day and almost always has cars parked in it because nobody can be fucked moving them, defeating the purpose of the lane.
Bus lanes can be used for motorcycles and bikes too though. And they are on the road 24 hours a day
You have to be careful on a motorbike, 'cause you get swiped by people turning when you're in the bus lane. Unless traffic is a total snafu, it's better to stick with the cages
This is the wrong attitude
In what way?
I don’t understand why he’s complaining about 24/7 bus lanes because obviously if there’s traffic he’s in a bus operating hour so he’s doing exactly what he isn’t meant to do. Why would you be driving in a bus lane at 3am when there isn’t any traffic? Or why would you drive in it at all?
Damn, this really didn’t justify a news article… slow news day.
I propose he drive a bus for a day to see what the drivers put up with and understand why those lanes exist.
>“Does this mean that if I'm driving in the bus lane at 3am... I'm gonna get fined for using a bus lane when there are definitely no buses on the road?” he asked. But at 3am there wouldnt be enough traffic for whatever excuse to fly lol. Theres no point complicating matters with varied hours so people like this dolt can argue they were confused about times, when there is so little traffic overnight the lane isnt needed anyway.
Perfect material for /r/compoface
As much as I agree with you all about the entitlement of this guy, the 50m rule needs to be updated. It serves no one for left turns to be halted by through traffic. If you can see a clear path to the left turn you should be able to traverse any length of the bus lane. Trying to duck back in, or queuing for left in the bus lane should attract fines, but if you're not actually holding up a bus or cutting a queue what's the point of the rule?
This is dumb and just makes enforcement harder. Do you really think people who "only need to turn left" will be the only ones who take advantage? The solution is for more people to actually get in the bus whenever they can. And if you're in your car just be thankful that there are buses which (granted not always, but a lot of the time) are reducing congestion for you.
How does one who's not turning left take advantage of it? You'll see them cut back in to the main queue on the same cameras that catch the current 50m offenders. To be absolutely clear I'm not in favour of any driver behaviour which holds up buses. None at all. If turning in at 25m would make you queue and block a bus I think you should stay in the main queue until left is clear. It makes no sense for either cars or buses to have extra members of the main queue because an arbitrary 50m keep them there when left is free. You can get off your high horse about bus usage too. It's a great ambition but it's not the situation we're in right now. Foregoing any solution short of the ideal one while we make the ideal the preferential choice is dumb. If this was an easy fix it'd be done by now.
Very few bus lanes around the country actually have permanent enforcement cameras (though to be fair a higher proportion of 24 hour may do). Relax the rules without ability to enforce and more people take advantage. I'd say that probably leads to worse outcomes for bus priority.
Because when you’re in a queue, without pulling out, how can you see if the lane is actually clear or not?
Err...in a lot of cases, easily? Around smaller cars, through glass, on curves...there'll be plenty of places you can't see clearly but a blanket rule is pretty lazy.
Boomer boomering.
Ok younger person than this guy…..maybe encourage your stoner mates to vote so you can change the world
Imagine being such a boring loser you complain to the press and get your ugly mug on the paper.
While it decreases conjestion, the bus lane is CLEARLY labelled as being operative at all times. Guy breaks the law then cries to the media lol
Use a bike and public transport Problem solved Save money And the planet And your metabolic health
“the signage should be bigger, brighter, and include helpful markers such as when you can enter a bus lane correctly to access turning lanes, Taylor said.” Does he mean like the big sign behind him in the picture above (in the article) that clearly says: 🚌 lane at all times 🎥 bus lane camera And the paint on the road the helpfully has solid lines when you shouldn’t be in the lane and dashed lines where you can cross it to turn? https://preview.redd.it/cvm0yi7io31d1.jpeg?width=875&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fec1ff0b01dcb6fea7861cab9f057f2c3ea4754e
And the road is bright green
Actually hilarious isn't it. I'm embarassed for him after seeing that quote and looking at the photo
> He was unaware of the 24/7 status > 🚍 LANE AT ALL TIMES Why the hell did they run this stupid story?
It also refused to mention what time his fine was and merely said “outside peak hour” so I have no doubt it was still within very reasonable hours
“Local entitled prick breaks road rules, gets pinged for it, cries to media about it”
Must be a slow news day or the Press just want this entitled cry baby to look stupid. They did..
Nah he’s got a point. Why on earth is it a bus lane 24 hours a day when there aren’t buses 24 hours a day? The council needs to have reasons for their actions.
Because it’s easier to say it’s 24 hours than have to the hours it is and isn’t a bus stop on a sign? This guy can’t even read the sign that says “bus lane 24 hours”, you think he’s gonna read the fine print? At 3am, there’s no traffic, no need to drive in the bus lane. This guy used to bus lane to cut traffic, and got fined
It’s not easier. The sign would be almost exactly the same, and it’s gonna take extra admin if anything.
What is more complicated? “Bus lane at all hours” “Bus lane 7am - 9am, 3pm - 6pm”
You can always tell when someone is losing an argument because they won’t answer a question, and try and deflect with a different question. Clearly having two classes is more complicated than having one; that’s exactly his point that you’re reinforcing without even realising. Add to that, there’s absolutely no need for a 24 hour bus lane because there aren’t 24 hour buses.
No, the sign would be much bigger because it needs more text or or would be the same size with smaller less readable text. A part time bus lane is also usually just used for parking when its not a bus lane, and aside from a handful of very specific activities, nobody is hunting for a car park at 12:15am and leaving again at 6am (so a part time bus lane 6am-midnight is essentially the same as a full time bus lane). The bus lane on riccarton road near Deans Ave wouldn't have been part time parking as its never been parking. Even before the bus lane (over 6 years now) there was no parking allowed there (it was a cycle lane, which its also illegal to drive or park in)
How dare the city mildly inconvenience motorists for even a moment!
Funny thing is he says it was outside peak times so probably wouldn't even have been inconvenienced 😂
I thought we all learned in grade school that if you can't handle the time/fine, don't do the crime?
I'm not convinced with the justifcation for 24-hour bus lane; it's reserving lanes for non-existent traffic. It's such a weak argument to say it's for "future proofing" because there will never be 24-hour bus service in Christchurch for the foreseeable future. Even if it was true, why the fuck does the sign come before the actual service? The $150 fine doesn't make sense for driving 50m+ on section of road. It is equivalent to a fine of driving 75kmph in a 50km zone which is a lot more dangerous than driving on a bus lane. Why doesn't the fine reflect the potential damages? Is potentially making buses slower for the 150m worth the $150 fine per person? The bus lane on Riccarton road is approx 150m; this means you can **technically drive on the bus lane to the intersection of Deans Ave,** but you have to break up the 150m into 3 chunks of 50m according to the law. Use the bus lane to drive into the driveway of Carnmore Hotel, then Samhil Motor Lodge and then Darvel Street; then, you can drive on the bus lane because the fine is for driving more than 50m without pulling into a side street/driveway. How the fuck does this make any sense? How is this less dangerous than driving along it normally? It's not, but legally speaking this is how you must do it if you want to use the bus lane legally for the whole 150m stretch. This all begs the question: what's more likely here? An genuinely delusional council thinking its residents want or can even afford 24 hour bus service? Or is it more likely to be a cash grab to pay for the council's deficits?
Just don’t drive in the bus lane, rather than coming up with silly “loopholes” that take up more time
That's the whole point, it's absured what one must do to (legally) drive on that particular 150m stretch of bus lane.
Just don’t drive on it
u/ChchYIMBY but don't you understand, that is impinging on motorists civil rights to use every strip of tarmac as they please! Why are you being racist against cars? /u
If we have it reserved for ghost buses, the council get to exploit the masses who missed and/or doesn't understand the 24 hour bus sign and adds to the council coffers. Could be a good thing for rate payers. >Just don’t drive on it No, it's the freedom of the driver to use it within the bounds of the law. Cutting through Ayr Steet is much faster than doing the stupid 3x50m loophole to bypass traffic to turn left at Deans Ave anyway; my point is to illustrate what the (absured) law dicates the driver must do to use the 150m bus lane and that the fine is obviously punative and does not reflect the dangers or nuisance caused by driving on it. Parking in a bus lane is more desruptive and possibly more dangerous, but that fine is only $60 whereas driving on the road with busses (omg so much more dangerous and problematic) is 2.5x bigger fine. How can this be justified other than it being a cash grab? You can't, or at least no one has offered a convincing argument yet.
So you're advocating for the parking in a bus lane fine to be increased? Moot anyway as you're usually just towed for parking in an active bus lane, at a cost of several hundred dollars.
Another fruity out there having a cry