Birmingham’s clean air zone (CAZ) has gone live, from today [01 June] the most polluting vehicles will be charged to drive inside the city’s inner ring road.
Drivers of pre-Euro 4 petrol and pre-Euro 6 diesel cars, taxis and vans travelling within the A4540 Middleway will face a £8 charge, with buses and HGVs charged £50 a day.
The council confirmed it will introduce the zone through a ‘soft launch’, where it will not pursue enforcement until 14 June.
Unlike the Bath CAZ, which restricts commercial vehicles only, Birmingham will be the first CAZ outside of London to apply restrictions to passenger vehicles.
This move has caused concern from the AA, with its president Edmund King describing such zones as “very blunt tools that create a tax burden for low-income families and workers”.
Data from an AA Populus survey shows that 37% of non-compliant car owners in London and Birmingham wouldn’t be able to afford to upgrade their vehicle, while a further 11% facing severe financial difficulties as a result.
Kind said: “These drivers are least able to afford to replace the vehicles they depend on for work, often night shifts, and sometimes emergencies such as going to hospital or health care centres. They are also the ones least able to pay the fines.”
The AA has proposed various alternatives and additions to CAZs. These include a “rapid and massive expansion” of park and ride facilities, a first-time warning instead of a fine for those who accidentally drive a non-compliant car into the zone, and the removal of VAT on new EV sales.
Furthermore, Birmingham is only one of several cities looking to install CAZs. In August, Oxford is expected to install a similar initiative called a Zero Emissions Zone, with only zero-emissions vehicles able to use this zone without paying a fee.
Bristol, Manchester and Portsmouth are also expected to deploy CAZs as part of emission plans.
