What Do You Know About Clean Air Zones?
Monday, 13. August 2018
They are coming! In a survey carried out by the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), they found that 40% of small and medium-sized companies were unaware that CAZ’s would be introduced into UK towns and cities as early as next year. I would hazard a guess that even fewer consumers would be aware of the changes.
The survey also found that 38% were unaware that CAZ’s would involve charges for all but the most modern and least polluting diesel cars. The BVRLA advise that the charges in some cities could be as high as an eye-watering £100 per day for an HGV and £12.50 per day for other vehicles such as taxis and vans.
In addition, some local authorities have announced plans to charge drivers of more polluting diesel cars a CAZ-entry fee. Leeds, Derby, Nottingham, Southampton and Birmingham have been told to introduce CAZ’s by 2020 whilst a further 23 local authorities have been earmarked for CAZ implementation and a further 33 are considering what approach to take as part of their air quality strategy.
If you live or drive into London you could be in for a shock! From April 2019 they will be introducing a 24/7 Ultra-Low Emission Zone which is then set to extend to an area 18 times larger than its initial size by 25th October 2021. No that isn’t a typo, it is 18 times the size!!
I agree with Gerry Keaney, CEO of the BVRLA who said to Business Car, ‘Unless more is done to publicise the impact of these various CAZ’s and mitigate their impact, hundreds of thousands of businesses across the country will be hit with a regional road transport tax that will bring additional cost and confusion at a time when firms are already dealing with Brexit-related economic uncertainty.’
I also agree with the BVRLA who have called for policy-makers to introduce a range of measures to help fleets to transition to cleaner vehicles. This should include restricting the use of CAZ’s to essential areas keeping them as small as necessary.
With the widespread introduction of CAZ’s, there needs to be an element of standardization introduced. This should include such things as signage, communications, exemptions and application. It seems wrong that you should be able to travel into one town centre in your car without a fee whilst being charged in another.
One suggestion is to award mobility credits to drivers of older diesel cars that will allow them to travel at reduced rates on public transport, car hire and car share if they agree to scrap their old polluting cars. Personally, I can’t see that happening, especially if the drivers live in the country with poor transport access.
