Bolton Private Hire Association has 'no idea who to believe' about CAZ planshttps://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/20 ... caz-plans/The Bolton Private Hire Association has said it has “no idea who to believe” about the plans for a Clean Air Zone in Greater Manchester.The group has been steadfast in its opposition to proposals which would require drivers to pay a daily charge of £7.50, even when not working, in a bid to cut pollution.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham admitted last week he had not been forced to bring in the charge, despite previously claiming it had been enforced on him.
And Greater Manchester has now put forward its case to the government for scrapping charges in a revised Clean Air Zone plan.
Yasif Khan, secretary of the Bolton Private Hire Association, says he has no idea who to believe about the scheme.
He said: “We had a meeting with Andy Burnham just before the elections.
“He said he doesn’t want to bring a Clean Air Zone charge in.
“He said he wrote to the prime minister that he wants to bring in a non-charging air zone.
“What they are doing is blaming each other.
“We talk to the Conservatives (and) they say it is not is it us, (it is) Andy Burnham who is the mayor.
“Andy Burnham was saying it is the government giving orders.
“I do not know who to believe, we do not know who to believe.
“We had a meeting last week they said they were going to ask for a non-charging air zone as part of an ongoing consultation
“Nobody is clear where it is going.”
And Mr Khan reiterated his opposition to the plans, saying the offer of help to drivers was not enough.
He said: “It is not enough especially with cost of living going through the roof.
“What they are offering through funding is miserly.
“The market for vehicles has shot up in the last six months.”
Earlier this year, the government agreed to delay the deadline by which air pollution must be brought down below legal limits by two years to 2026.
It comes after evidence emerged of sharp rises in prices of new vans caused by Covid-related supply chain issues in the market, meaning motorists unable to upgrade vehicles would be stuck with a tax and the air would not be cleaner.
Since then, leaders have said the city-region’s air can be cleaned up before the new deadline without the need for charging any vehicles at all.
Instead, they say offering owners of the most polluting buses, lorries and taxis cash to upgrade their vehicles will be enough to achieve air quality compliance.
However, in a letter last month, environment secretary George Eustice said there is "little robust evidence" that this incentive-led approach would work.
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