Aberdeen City Council could be forced to refund £1million in bus gate fines if the crowdfunded legal challenge against the controversial traffic measures is successful.
The much-maligned bus gates have been a source of confusion and frustration for drivers and for city centre business owners since they first popped up in August 2023.
First introduced as an "experimental traffic order", the measures were made permanent in January despite pleas for a "common sense compromise" from The Press and Journal and Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce.
Veteran retailer Norman Esslemont launched a crowdfunder to pay to take the council to court over the gates, so far amassing more than £57,000 from exasperated locals keen to see the gates axed.
If the council is found to have acted improperly in making the bus gates permanent in January, it could have to refund all the fines issued since then.
Fines were upped to £100 last summer, but if paid within two weeks are halved to £50.
The P&J reports that between January and May 8, 11,973 fines were issued, giving a total amount that could need to be refunded of up to £1,197,300.
If everybody fined paid up within a fortnight, that figures would be halved at £598,650.