Ann Petersen

I thought it might be helpful to readers to highlight a road rule that would apply to anyone driving from Whakatāne to Tauranga Airport, which necessitates a left-hand turn from a bus lane into Jean Batten Drive.

Tauranga Council is collecting a lot of money from unwitting rule breakers like me.

I was recently fined $150 for entering the bus lane too early for my left turn from Hewletts Road into Jean Batten Drive (on my way from Whakatane to Tauranga Airport). Unfortunately, I couldn’t avoid the fine because I had broken the rule, by entering the bus lane more than the allowed 50 metres ahead of the traffic light.

However, I was a bit indignant about it, as I was completely unaware of the 50-metre regulation. Casual queries amongst a range of age groups in our community indicated that none of the folk I know had any idea of the 50m rule, and all were unaware of how the 50m was marked.

This made me think that there needs to be an education program around the bus lane rule. Living in Whakatāne, we have no bus lanes to contend with, so my transgression was completely inadvertent.

I wondered how many people make the same (costly) mistake on their way to the airport. It turns out quite a few. I submitted an Official Information Request to Tauranga City Council for the dollar value of fines for that left turn over the past six months, and it is a lot - $128,000.  Between July 20, 2024, and January 20, 2025, there were 854 fines collected.