A woman from Newport has been told she cannot park at a bus stop outside her own home despite it not being in use for over two years.
Julia Smith said her 23-year-old daughter Megan received a £35 fixed penalty notice after parking at a bus stop right outside Julia's home in Trinity View, Caerleon.
Julia claims the bus stop is no longer in use, and that the route hasn't been serving the area since early 2018.
Despite this, she said the South Wales Parking Group (SWPG), which processes fines on behalf of Newport council, have rejected two appeals from her, insisting that the stop is "still a live bus stand" and that penalties for parking there are still "valid and enforceable."
She said this is despite being told by Newport Transport that the 27/28 service no longer serves that stop and that there are no plans to re-instate it.
"I just can't believe it, it's ludicrous," she said.
"First the fine was £35 if paid within a month, then it went up to £70.
"We appealed it informally and that was rejected, so we appealed it officially to the council, but they rejected saying that because there is a bus stop there it has to be paid.
"They said as a gesture of good will that they would bring it down to £35 again.
"I've spoken to Newport Transport and they've told me there is no longer a route serving the stop, and no plans to re-introduce it."
A letter sent on July 16 from Newport Transport to Ms Smith and seen by WalesOnline confirmed that the bus stop was no longer being served.
"The service was discontinued as it was no longer commercially viable," it said.
"Unfortunately, at present there are no plans to reintroduce this service."
But a letter from the SWPG to Ms Smith, also seen by WalesOnline, stated that the bus stop "is still a live bus stand and the Traffic Regulation Order for this is still valid and enforceable."
"Vehicles stopping in bus stops make it hard for buses to pull in which endangers passengers getting on and off, especially disabled people. It also makes bus journeys take longer," it said.
"Consequently [we are] unable to find sufficient grounds upon which to cancel the penalty charge notice."
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Julia said the fine is now being appealed independently.
"It's ridiculous, the bus stop hasn't been used in over two years," she said.
"They came a while back to remove the markings but had trouble, so it's still partially there, and the signage is still there.
"It's never been an issue parking there since the route was discontinued, so I don't understand their excuse. The stop is taking up a huge amount of space, so cars are parking on the road instead in the area, which is more dangerous with children and everything around.
"I pay £200 a month in council tax, and can't park outside my house?
"Ideally, I'd like to see the signage and the markings fully removed, or else the service reinstated."
A spokesperson from Newport Transport confirmed the bus stop was no longer being served.
A spokesperson from Newport council said: "Despite not being used by a regular service, the bus stop at Trinity View is still designated as a bus stop, and therefore regulations state it is not to be used as a parking space.
"Any bus service provider can register a route using this bus stop, and we do hope that a scheduled route will be used again in future. The stop can also be used by school bus services.
"There is ample legal off-road parking space in this area that can be used, and we would encourage residents to use this rather than parking illegally in a restricted spot."
