Birmingham rakes in £79million through fees and penalties from Clean Air Zone

A Clean Air Zone is an area where targeted action is taken to improve air quality, in particular by discouraging the most polluting vehicles from entering the zone. Credit: PA Images

Birmingham's Clean Air Zone has generated £79million since it started charging drivers if their vehicle didn't meet emission standards.

The city's Clean Air Zone (CAZ) was introduced in June 2021 to help tackle traffic-related pollution.

It was the first city after London to charge drivers for cars that were deemed unacceptable for the environment.

The Transport Act 2000 requires local authorities in England to reinvest any earnings from Clean Air Zones into the “delivery of local transport policies”.

Birmingham City Council says it has invested over £52 million from its programme into hydrogen bus trials, improvements to railway stations and development of better cycling infrastructure.

New research shows more than £418million was collected in fees and penalty charges through vehicle emissions-based schemes in England since March 2021.

How much did other cities make from their Clean Air Zone?

  • London's ultra low emission zone (Ulez) – which will expand to cover the entire capital on Tuesday – made £320 million was generated between October 2021 and April 2023.

  • Bath brought in around £10 million from March 2021 to May 2023.

  • Bradford’s clean air zone accumulated £7 million between September 2022 and June 2023

  • Portsmouth generated almost £1 million between December 2021 and May 2023.

Over 300 road signs are in place to alert drivers about the Clean Air Zone in Birmingham. Credit: Birmingham City Council

Birminghams Clean Air Zone is in operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and covers an area of the city centre within the A4540 Middleway.

Cars that meet the emission standard do not need to pay the daily fee.

Those include: Diesel cars Euro 6 (VI) standard or better, Petrol cars Euro 4 standard or better Gas Euro 6 (VI) standard or better and Hybrid or electric cars.

The daily fee for vehicles that do not meet the Clean Air zone criteria is £8 per day for cars, taxis and vans or £50 per day for coaches, buses and HGVs.

Evidence for Birmingham's Clean Air Zone shows a reduction in the levels of NO2 within the Zone by an average of 13%, according to the scheme's interim report.

Within six months of its launch, the number of vehicles that comply with the emission standards has increased from 79.8% at the beginning of June 2021 to 88.8% at the end of December 2021.

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