Manchester’s Clean Air Zone will be implemented in May 2022, according to the city-region’s recently published clean air plan.
According to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), following feedback from last year’s public consultation and the impact of Covid-19 – particularly on small business – the areas registered taxi/private hire owners and LGV owners will be given more time, financial assistance, and options to upgrade to compliant vehicles.
Greater Manchester has secured over £120m in government funding to support local businesses to upgrade to cleaner, compliant vehicles so they can travel in a GM-wide CAZ without incurring a daily charge. Applications for funding support will open this November.
There will also be temporary exemptions for an additional year (until 31 May 2023) for all hackney and private hire vehicles licensed by a GM District. Vans, minibuses, GM-registered coaches and wheelchair-accessible taxis were already exempt from daily charges.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “Greater Manchester were the pioneers of the industrial revolution, now we are leading a green revolution, backed with over £120m that we’ve secured to hand over to businesses to support making their vehicles compliant
“We listened hard to what business owners wanted and, as a result, taxi drivers are being given more time, more funding and more options. This is part of our wider commitment to put GM-licensed hackney and private hire drivers first, and to lobby government to give us the powers to ensure that only locally licensed drivers are able to operate here.
“The fact is that air pollution is not a problem that is going to go away on its own. Not only has our plan been directed by national government, we’ve taken this seriously and fought to get a plan which has the right funding support for residents and to protect those most vulnerable as well as our trade and businesses. This plan will also have major health and wellbeing benefits for people living near motorways or major roads as there will be less polluting vehicles and HGVs using them.
“Our Clean Air Zone is only one piece of the jigsaw. We’re also fully integrating our public transport system – the Bee Network – and building the UK’s largest cycling and walking network.”
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