Portsmouth’s UK government-mandated charging clean air zone (CAZ) has launched, with non-compliant vehicles to be issued a daily charge to drive in the zone.
The Portsmouth CAZ is a Class B CAZ, which means non-compliant vehicles are buses, coaches, taxis, private hire vehicles and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) that do not meet the Euro 6 standard if diesel or Euro 4 standard if petrol.
Non-compliant taxis and private hire vehicles will be charged £10 per day to drive through the zone, and non-compliant buses, coaches and HGVs will pay £50 per day.
While drivers of private vans, cars and motorcycles will not be charged to drive in Portsmouth – no matter how old the vehicle is – they could still be charged in other CAZs in the UK.
Furthermore, there are some specific vehicle exemptions, including for emergency service and military vehicles.
Last Friday,Portsmouth City Council’s air quality improvement team held a showcase that brought together a range of air quality schemes from across the council as well as the rest of the city.
Attendees were able to ask Portsmouth City Council’s air improvement quality team any questions they had about the CAZ and other measures to reduce air pollution.
Cllr Dave Ashmore, cabinet member for community safety and environment at Portsmouth City Council, said: “Today is the day the clean air zone launches, but we should be speaking about air quality every day.
“There are so many ways we can all make a difference to the air quality in our city. It might be using public transport more, ditching the second car and joining a car club, making your next vehicle electric, or walking, catching the bus or renting an e-scooter for your next short journey.
“As a council we’re working on creating the best possible conditions for these changes, from installing on-street electric car charging points and bicycle parking to extending the rental e-scooter trial and prioritising walking and cycling routes for residents.”
