Government Launches CAZ Charge Checker
The government has developed an online tool to help drivers check if they’ll have any potential if the enter a clean air zone (CAZ).
Its pretty simple to use:
- enter your vehicle registration
- confirm whether it’s a taxi or not
and it will give you a breakdown of any charges you could incur.
At the moment, it only covers Birmingham and Leeds but with cities such as Cardiff, Bristol, Sheffield and Bath announcing their interest in introducing clean air zones there maybe more additions soon.
The checker is available here – //www.gov.uk/check-clean-air-zone-charge
It has drawn some criticism from the RAC. They have stated that its not a reliable indicator of whether a car is compliant with the EURO 6 standard.
London
London has its own separate checker (//tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/check-your-vehicle-35896) and according to the latest figures from the Mayor of London, it’s having a dramatic effect. Monitors in the capital showed a 97% reduction in the number of hours that it exceeded air quality limits. In 2016, they were at 4000 hours, in 2019 it was just 100 hours.
Comment
Despite the success, businesses are worried about the extra financial costs saying it would reduce margins and inhibit growth.
Richard Burnett of the Road Hauliers Association said:
“We all want cleaner air and we will support practical plans which make it happen, but it cannot be at the expense of businesses priming the supply chain.
“We have put forward alternative solutions to improve air quality which embraces business realities but sadly these have fallen on deaf ears.”
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To view our video on reducing your fleet carbon footprint click here – //youtu.be/hO_er1ZJgHI
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