The council has made almost £5.5million since last April, from fines given to motorists who drove in bus lanes.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal £5,479,000 was made from penalties for bus lane and bus route contraventions - more than half a million pounds more than the year before.

The huge amounts the council makes from driving offences has caused anger in the borough before. This latest disclosure will increase concern that driving regulations have more to do with raising money for town halls than road safety or congestion.

Croydon Council said the increase in penalty charge notice (PCN) revenue was down to improved debt collection.

However, it has raised questions over whether the figures accurately reflect the number of motorists deliberately flouting bus regulations or if people are aware they are driving illegally - even on a bank holiday.

Motorist Peter Howard said: "The amount of money raised by bus lane contraventions seems excessive. And I was also surprised to learn that bus lane regulations are active on any weekday - including Christmas and Boxing Day and other bank holidays.

"I'm sure a lot of drivers would assume they are ok driving in a bus lane on these days and are probably unaware of this."

Peter Morgan, from the Croydon Road User Forum, said: "If a bus timetable changes on a bank holiday then it would be a fair assumption the timing of bus lanes might differ too. However, legally, this is not the case."

Bus lane rules are enforced at peak times from Monday to Friday. However, according to the information released by the council, it is considered too "problematic" to implement exemptions on bank holidays because extra signs would require special authorisation.

In North End alone 11,779 PCNs were issued in 2006 - an average of 32 a day. Last June the Croydon Guardian revealed how at least 30 drivers a day were getting caught out for taking a wrong turn into a bus route on Poplar Walk, at the start of North End.

Council leader Mike Fisher added: "Bus lanes are there for a reason but I would like to see the council move towards a more sensible sort of traffic parking enforcement situation, where each case is judged on its own merits."

The money, calculated from April to May, is put back into local services linked with road safety improvement schemes, including funding for the Freedom travel passes for the elderly and school crossing patrol officers.