Drivers refuse to pay Clean Air Zone fines as more cars enter area than when it was first launched
Drivers have refused to get on board with the Clean Air Zone in Birmingham as a new report shows more cars entering the area than leaving and failing to pay fines.
The Clean Air Zones in Birmingham saw nearly 100,000 more cars enter the emissions-based charging area in March 2022 than in June 2021 when it was first launched.
Birmingham currently operates a Class D CAZ, which sees fines issued to non-compliant buses, coaches, taxis, private hire vehicles, HGVs, vans, minibuses, and private cars.
The CAZ is three square miles and covers all the roads within the A4540 Middleway Ring Road, but not the Middleway itself.
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It is in operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with 67 cameras in place within the zone to make sure the cars that enter are compliant or risk a fine, according to the Government’s Clean Air Zone Service Annual Report (2021-2022).
However, despite the scheme being one of the first to launch outside of London, it was met with fierce resistance from locals in and around Birmingham.
Taking to social media, one user said: “Birmingham Clean Air Zone is an absolute scam. It’s just a ring road. Inside the ring road it’s £8 for the privilege.
“In the same patch of uncovered air about 40ft away, but outside the ring road. It costs nothing. There is not one ounce of proof that the space you are paying to go in has cleaner air. It literally is the other side of the road.”
Another person expressed: “Unless the taxers can prove it….nobody should pay anything!!! Ask them how much the air is cleaner!! Ask them will it be cleaner if there is no traffic at all!!”
Data found that more than half a million fines handed out to drivers for breaching the CAZ rules in Birmingham have not been paid as motorists refuse to pay the charges.
The current CAZ rules in Birmingham issue drivers with a penalty fine of £120 if the original charge is not paid on time with drivers having up to 28 days to pay it.
Non-compliant vehicles are slapped with an £8 fine daily for driving through CAZ routes, similar to London’s Ulez, which fines over-polluting vehicles.
According to a Freedom of Information request, Birmingham City Council issued 536,552 penalty charge notices since February 2022 which have not yet been paid.
More than 77,000 penalties issued last year were for the £8 daily fine, while the council issued nearly 400 penalties for buses, coaches and lorries.
A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: “The Council follows the statutory enforcement process for the issuing and enforcement of penalty charge notices.
“In the event that a PCN is received, opportunities for challenge are set out at each stage of the process so that anyone issued with a penalty charge notice understands how they can pay or challenge it.”
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The spokesperson added that all revenue generated by the Clean Air Zone is reinvested back into projects that promote greener travel and cleaner air.
The money is also used to fund the Brum Breathes Fund, which is providing more than £4million to support projects in the city.