THE announcement that cameras are to be installed in Oxford to keep bus lanes free for buses is long overdue.

Too many motorists and lorry drivers try to jump the queues and save a few seconds by sneaking into them.

It is an infuriating habit, not only for bus drivers and their passengers but for the law-abiding majority who stick by the rules and patiently wait their turn at roundabouts and junctions.

Bus lanes were introduced in Oxford 30 years ago, and it is astonishing that it has taken so long to get proper enforcement.

The only way to stop the lawbreakers in the past was for a police officer to stand at the side of the road and book them. Inevitably, given more pressing demands on our police, that happened infrequently.

Now Parliament is finally catching up and introducing laws which will allow councils to install cameras to enforce the bus lane rules.

For years, Oxford has rightly put the emphasis on public transport to get people in and out of the city centre.

But if buses get stuck in traffic, the benefits are quickly lost.