Wish I'd noticed how many photos and stuff was in here before I got going - but it was a case of 'I've started, so I'll finish'
"This is the end of the black cab in Manchester": The taxi drivers who could be left earning 'less than £4 a trip' after Clean Air Zone chargeshttps://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... r-22645557The Clean Air Zone will come into effect on May 30Manchester taxi drivers fear new Clean Air Zone charges will mean the end of the black cab in the city.
The Clean Air Zone will come into effect from May 30 this year – much to the outrage of cabbies across the region.
The charging zone aims to reduce the number of polluting vehicles on the region's roads.
It means drivers of vans, buses, coaches, taxis and lorries that fail to meet emissions standards must pay a daily charge to drive anywhere in Greater Manchester.
Private vehicles are not included in the plan.
The charge is £60 a day for HGVs, buses and coaches, with vans paying £10 and taxi and private hire vehicles paying £7.50.
Failure to pay the charge will also result in a £120 fine plus the daily charge.
The zone is being enforced by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras and now the first signs have been spotted on some of the region's roads.
But the CAZ has been met with backlash from city centre taxi drivers.
They fear the changes will drive the industry into the ground – with many having already left their jobs ahead of May 30.
Image: Manchester Evening NewsNazar Shaw, a black cab driver from Stockport, points to his taximeter as he sits in the rank outside Manchester Victoria station.
He’s been waiting over an hour for a job to come in – and only makes on average around £4 each trip.
“If I have to pay the £7.50 a day, it’s over £200 a month,” the 65-year-old, who has been a taxi driver for 13 years, says.
“If you calculate it yearly, it’s almost £3,000. They bring in the law but we don’t have alternative options.
“I’ve talked to other colleagues and they say they will leave their jobs and find alternatives.
“I have my pension but what will the young people do?
“I think it’s the beginning of the end for black cabs.
“New electric cabs cost £70k. They only do a certain amount of miles with one charge.
“It’s worrying.
“The Government is giving grants out for electric cars but you have to pay interest.
Image: Manchester Evening News“I know about four people who have left to get jobs at factories.
“I’ve been waiting an hour for a job. On average I’ll get £4. If I’m lucky, I’ll get £10.
“I work 10 hours a day. If I make £50, then pay for fuel, then the clean air zones charge, I’ll make nothing in a day.”
Greater Manchester has secured more than £120m in government funding to help local businesses, people and organisations to upgrade to cleaner vehicles.
The Clean Air Zone Financial Support Scheme has also been launched to help drivers either replace or retrofit non-compliant vehicles so they meet emissions standards.
But some campaigners say more awareness is needed of the CAZ, especially among the thousands of traders that will be among those most affected.
"It's a worry because it’s looming all the time,” David Fish, 55, tells the Manchester Evening News.
Image: Manchester Evening News“I’m very unhappy about it because I don’t think they’re giving us enough notice.
“We’ve already had a setback where this business is concerned with the pandemic going on for two years.
“It’s not over yet – and they’re still going ahead with it.
“Essentially, you can keep these cabs in Manchester for 12 years.
“This cab is eight-years-old. I’ll have to change it in four years.
“With a bit of patience, the vehicles are all coming off anyway.
“They’re forcing you to change it sooner.
“They want you to pay for an electric car but it only does 80 miles. Today, I’ve done 72.
“I’ve got to be sceptical really. They’re firing ahead with it when we’re in the pandemic.
“The size of it – originally, they were talking about a small area. Now it’s the whole of Greater Manchester.
“I have a choice of paying £7.50 or change my vehicle for an electric one or a Euro 6. I’m a bit stuck, really.”
The ten Greater Manchester councils insist they are legally obligated by the government to introduce it to secure compliance with NO 2 legal limits on local roads in the shortest possible time, and by 2024 at the latest.
Air pollution is said to contribute towards at least 1,200 deaths per year in the city-region.
Similar zones are already in operation in Bath and Birmingham.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) says it has repeatedly warned the region's authorities over low levels of awareness among small firms that often reliant on light goods vehicles (LGVs) for their work.
It is estimated there are around 75,000 non-compliant commercial diesel vehicles in Greater Manchester alone.
The zone will also affect thousands of traders who drive into the region from surrounding counties such as Lancashire and Cheshire.
Akmal Bai, from Trafford, sits in the long line of black cabs by the Fairfield Street entrance at Manchester Piccadilly station.
Image: Manchester Evening NewsThe 60-year-old says the charges will make life “very hard” for those working in an industry still trying to recover from the pandemic.
“We can’t afford it if we’re paying it every day,” he tells the Manchester Evening News.
“We can’t afford to buy a new cab.
“The prices are too high and the business isn’t doing too well at the moment.
“It’s going to make it very hard for us.
“We’re very worried because it’s our living. We can’t afford extra.
“Fuel prices are already quite high and it’s all the extra expense we have to do.
“The industry is already not doing well.”
Image: Manchester Evening NewsAnother taxi driver, who did not wish to give his name, added: “They want us to upgrade to the new vehicles.
“I don’t like it but we don’t have much say in it.
“I have 10 cabs so I don’t know what will happen yet.”
David Lawrie, director at the National Private Hire and Taxi Association, says the union has seen a “massive drop” in driver and vehicle numbers already as a result of the pandemic.
According to the association, the number of hackney carriages in Bury has fallen from 120 to 40.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News , he said: “The overall issue is, of course, that this will not only affect those who own Euro 5 vehicles, it will affect everyone, simply because it will push up the price of all goods and services including fuel for the general public.”
Image: Manchester Evening NewsSpeaking previously to the M.E.N. previously, Councillor Andrew Western, clean air lead for the council, says support is being offered to “as many affected vehicle owners as possible” in order to help them move to cleaner vehicles.
This is to avoid paying the daily charge.
“We’ve been directed by national government to introduce a Clean Air Zone to bring harmful nitrogen dioxide air pollution levels within legal limits on local roads in the shortest possible time, and by 2024 at the latest.
“Financial support is being offered to as many affected vehicle owners as possible to help them move to cleaner vehicles so they don’t have to pay a daily charge. I’d encourage HGV owners to use the online checker to see if they are affected and find out more about their options as soon as possible.”
Image: Adam Vaughan/Manchester Evening News
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