With Birmingham launching its Clean Air Zone (CAZ) on Tuesday 1st June, road users are being reminded to assess the impact on their journeys and explore options for upgrading non-compliant vehicles.
Vehicles are not banned in the Birmingham CAZ, but older and more polluting ones (pre-Euro 6 (VI) diesel and pre-Euro 4 petrol) will need to pay a daily charge to enter. Studies have suggested that around 60% of the 200,000 vehicles that enter the city centre each day could be affected.
Birmingham is the second CAZ to be launched this year, following Bath, but zones are also imminent in Bristol, Bradford, Portsmouth, Greater Manchester, Newcastle, Gateshead and North Tyneside.
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London operates a more stringent Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and this will be extended to an area 18-times larger than the original Low Emission Zone by 25th October 2021.
The BVRLA, the trade body for the vehicle rental and leasing industry, has launched a new web guide at www.cleanairzones.co.uk. It provides useful information for fleets and individuals, outlining where the CAZs are coming, how they work, what administrative support is available for business fleets and what options are available if people need to upgrade their car, van or truck.
BVRLA Chief Executive Gerry Keaney said; “Our rental and leasing members are a good option for someone who regularly travels through a Clean Air Zone. They have a huge variety of CAZ-compliant vehicles that are available on a flexible and fixed-cost basis.
“They are already helping tens of thousands of businesses and individuals make the leap to fully zero-emission motoring and can provide electric vehicles and charging solutions to meet every need.”
About the BVRLA
The BVRLA represents over 970 companies engaged in vehicle rental, leasing and fleet management. Our membership is responsible for a combined fleet of four million cars, vans and trucks, one-in-ten of all vehicles on UK roads.
BVRLA members represent the demand-side of the automotive industry, buying around 50% of new vehicles, including over 80% of those manufactured and sold in the UK. In doing so, they support almost 500,000 jobs, add £7.6bn in tax revenues and contribute £49bn to the UK economy each year.
Together with our members, the association works with policymakers, public sector agencies, regulators, and other key stakeholders to ensure that road transport delivers environmental, social and economic benefits to everyone. BVRLA members are leading the charge to decarbonise road transport and are set to register 400,000 new battery electric cars and vans per year by 2025.
BVRLA membership provides customers with the reassurance that the company they are dealing with adheres to the highest standards of professionalism and fairness.
The association achieves this by reinforcing industry standards and regulatory compliance via its mandatory Codes of Conduct, inspection regime, government-approved Alternative Dispute Resolution service and an extensive range of learning and development programmes.
