Links Ave bus lane strikes again as Mount Maunganui woman cops warning in error

Sandra Riggir was panicked after incorrectly receiving a warning for using the Links Avenue bus lane. Photo / John Borren Sun Media

A road trial on Links Ave in Mount Maunganui continues to confuse people with one warning sent to a woman who didn't even drive down the street.

But the council says only a tiny proportion of warnings and fines have inaccuracies, which are due to human error.

On April 5, Sandra Riggir drove along Golf Rd, past the intersection of Links Ave, and a few days later she received a warning letter in the mail for using the bus lane on Links Ave.

"At first, I was panicked," she said.

"I thought, oh my god, what have I done? Because I know I didn't go to Links Ave."

Riggir contacted Tauranga City Council about her warning and was told she shouldn't have received it.

"I haven't been provided with a satisfactory answer as to why," she said.

"The logic of it escapes me."

The Ōtūmoetai resident was concerned other people may have been ticketed incorrectly and paid without challenging it.

The eastern end of Links Ave was turned into a bus lane for authorised vehicles only as part of a minimum four-month trial to reduce traffic volumes and increase safety on the street.

Anyone caught driving through the bus lane will be fined $150.

In the past three weeks, more than 9500 vehicles have driven through the bus lane attracting $1.43 million in fines as of Monday.

During the first two weeks of the trial, only warnings were issued and 8500 were sent out.

Hastings woman Anne-marie Reid was showing her rottweiler puppy at a dog show in Palmerston North at the time she was fined.

"I thought, well, how the hell can that be? It's absolutely impossible," said Reid about opening the letter containing the fine.

"I can't be in two places at once."

She did not even know where Links Ave was in Mount Maunganui and had not been to the city recently.

Anne-marie Reid was brassed off after receiving an infringement. Photo / Supplied

Reid was frustrated she had to spend time disputing the infringement.

"I was brassed off because I knew it was going to be a lot of telephone calls, emails, and a lot of shagging around.

"I know what the councils are like, they take their sweet time."

She was also worried the fine won't be cleared correctly and could result in further penalties or prevent her from travelling.

"If they don't process it properly and they miss it, then it just goes unpaid and I don't want to go through that hassle," said Reid.

The woman is the second case of a person being fined whilst being in another city.

Local Democracy Reporting spoke to James Tomlin who received a warning despite being in Christchurch.

For all three cases, Tauranga City Council has blamed human error.

The bus lane is monitored by an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera.

Council regulation monitoring team leader Stuart Goodman said human error resulted in the registration being entered incorrectly and an infringement being issued.

"The process that is in place requires a warranted parking officer to review the evidence collected by the camera, before an infringement is issued," said Goodman.

"Less than 1 per cent of processed warning letters and infringement notices have included inaccuracies – 99 per cent have been sent out correctly.

"Like anything, there is a small margin for error, 1 per cent is incredibly low."

Goodman said if people believe they have received an incorrect or unjust fine they can dispute this.

Information about how to dispute a fine is outlined on the infringement notice, he said.

Local Democracy Reporting is public interest journalism funded by NZ On Air