Being in a bus laneThe official national descriptor for code 34, as published in the Department for Transport statutory guidance list.
The letter after the number on your ticket
Codes are often written with a suffix: 34j rather than just 34. The letter narrows the allegation, and it tells you what the council actually says went wrong. These are the suffixes code 34 can carry:
| j | camera enforcement |
| 0 | local buses or trams only |
What the council has to be able to show
An appeal is not an apology, it is a challenge to the council’s case. For code 34 that case rests on:
- A traffic order creating the lane and setting its hours.
- Signs and markings in the prescribed form, at the entry and repeated along it.
- That the vehicle was in the lane during the hours of operation.
Where code 34 tickets go wrong
Check the plate against the timestamp on the notice, minute by minute. Part-time lanes generate a lot of wrong notices.
Short unavoidable use to reach a side road, a driveway or a parking place is generally accepted where the layout leaves no alternative.
An emergency vehicle behind you, an obstruction, a broken-down vehicle. The full video is the evidence and the still will not show it.
Faded lane markings, a missing repeater sign, or a sign obscured by a tree are all real grounds. Photograph the length of the lane, not just the entry.
Our fuller bus lane PCN guide works through the hours question and the left-turn exemption in more detail.
What to gather before you write
- A photograph of the hours plate at the entry, legible.
- The complete video, showing what was ahead and behind you.
- Photographs of the lane markings along the stretch you used.
Code 34 questions, answered
I only used the bus lane for a few seconds to turn left. Does that count?
Usually not, and it is a well-established point. Where the layout means you must enter the lane to make a left turn, to reach a driveway or to pull into a parking place, short and unavoidable use is generally accepted. Set out plainly where you were going and how far you travelled in the lane, and ask for the complete footage so the shortness is visible.
What does contravention code 34 mean?
Being in a bus lane. In plain terms: The most-issued camera contravention there is. The detail that decides most of these is the hours: a great many bus lanes operate part-time, and the plate is what tells you.
How much is a code 34 penalty?
Code 34 is a moving traffic or bus lane contravention, so it is not banded higher and lower the way parking codes are. In London the charge is £160 across the board. Outside London it is set at the higher level, commonly around £70. Half is normally taken off for early payment, and because these notices are usually issued from a camera rather than by an officer at the roadside, that discount period is often 21 days rather than 14. Your notice states the actual figures and the actual deadline, and it is the notice that governs.
Your notice is definitive. This page explains the national code. Councils use extra codes and local suffixes, and the wording printed on your own notice always takes precedence. Check the deadline on the notice before you do anything else, because the discount usually runs out after 14 days.
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