Maximum penalty to rise from £130 to £160

The Red Route on the A312 in Feltham. Picture: Nigel Cox

Motorists who fail to follow the rules on London’s Red Route roads could face an increased fine of £160 under new plans.

TfL has announced this Thursday (5 August) it is opening a public consultation on plans to increase the maximum fine on Red Routes from £130 to £160. If introduced, it would be the first increase in 10 years. The fines are halved if paid within a set time so most people would actually be paying £80 under the new rates.

Red Routes, which TfL is responsible for managing, make up just five per cent of London’s roads but are some of the capital’s busiest, carrying up to 30 per cent of traffic.

Drivers can be fined for several reasons on Red Routes including for parking illegally, stopping in a box junction or driving in a bus lane.

Red Routes include the North and South Circular Roads, the Westway (A40), the A306 between Barnes and Roehampton, the A316 between Chiswick and Sunbury-on-Thames, the A312 between Northolt and Hanworth and the A3205 between Vauxhall and Wandsworth.

Siwan Hayward, director of compliance and policing at TfL, said that the proposed increase in fines is “intended to increase compliance with the rules and make streets safer, cleaner and less congested for everyone”.

The proposals form part of a wider range of measures that will increase revenue for TfL, including last week’s announcement that the “temporary” increase to the Congestion Charge would be made permanent, though the hours of operation reduced.

TfL has also recently announced the rollout of up to 50 new “smart cameras” across London’s roads that aim to improve compliance with road rules and reduce road deaths.

Back in March, City Hall Greens proposed an amendment to the Mayor of London’s budget that called for the £30 increase to Red Route fines, highlighting that it could raise up to £20 million of revenue for London’s cash-strapped transport network.

But TfL has insisted that this latest proposal is about making roads safer and cleaner, with Siwan Hayward adding that “we’d much rather people follow the rules than fine them”.

Red Routes, which are recognisable for their painted red lines, are designed to keep traffic flowing and prohibit drivers from stopping except for in designated areas.

But a recent talk from the Centre for London thinktank highlighted that Red Routes are also some of the most dangerous and polluted in London, accounting for 37 per cent of all road traffic deaths and with pollution levels up to 57 per cent higher than average roads.

Sadiq Khan and TfL are under growing pressure to improve safety on London’s roads following the death of a cyclist at an “infamous” intersection in Holborn this Wednesday (4 August), the sixth cyclist to be killed on London’s roads this year.

TfL has said that reducing danger on London’s roads is a “top priority”, with safety improvements already completed on several busy junctions and more work planned for later this year.

Londoners can have their say on the latest proposals by visiting TfL’s website, with the public consultation on Red Route fines open until 19 September.

Joe Talora - Local Democracy Reporter

August 5, 2021