A revised Clean Air Plan for Greater Manchester, which includes a continued commitment to avoid charging drivers, is set to be submitted to the UK government.
The updated plan would see £86.7m invested in cleaner buses, Taxis/PHVs and measures to manage traffic flows on some roads in Manchester and Salford – using funding already awarded to Greater Manchester by government.
Under the revised Clean Air Plan proposals Manchester could meet legal limits for nitrogen dioxide by 2026 at the latest through:
CLEAN TAXI FUND
• £22.5m to offer grants of between £3,770 and £12,560: Would support upgrades to every non-compliant eligible hackney cab and private hire vehicle licensed with a Greater Manchester authority by 1 October 2024. l
• £8m for electric hackney upgrades: Providing grants of between £7,530 and £12,560 to support owners of GM-licensed hackney carriages who meet the minimum emission standard upgrade to a zero-emission capable vehicle.
• Upgrades would need to meet new minimum emission standards being introduced by Greater Manchester local authorities by 31 December 2025 (date to be reviewed if government does not agree to the Clean Taxi Fund).
• Compliant vehicles: Hackney carriages and private hire vehicles with an internal com-bustion engine would need to be either Euro 4 petrol or Euro 6 diesel or be a fully zero-emissions capable electric vehicle.
• Proposed taxi grants are aligned with those offered under the 2021 GM Clean Air Plan with an uplift of 25.6%, reflecting inflation and changes in prices since grants were originally developed.
PLUS
• £51.1m investment in 40 new zero-emission electric buses, EV charging infrastructure at bus depots, and upgrading 77 buses to be Euro VI (clean air compliant).
AND
• £5m investment in local traffic measures: To manage traffic flow on roads in Manchester and Salford.
• The plan also proposes removing over 1,000 Clean Air Zone signs across the region.
• Evidence shows that the proposed investment-led Clean Air Plan will improve air quality faster than a Clean Air Zone – and without causing hardship to residents or businesses.
Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, Clean Air lead for Greater Manchester, expressed confidence in the government's approval of the revised plan.
He said: "The latest air quality monitoring data shows a really encouraging trend and we’ve done this without the hardship to residents and businesses that a charging Clean Air Zone could cause.
“Given some of the changes that have occurred in the last nine months, there was a need to adapt and update our proposals for an investment-led, non-charging GM Clean Air Plan.
"We’re now in a position where that work has been done and, subject to approvals, we can submit our updated plan to the new Government as soon as possible and await their decision."
The GM Air Quality Administration Committee will consider the plan on October 1 and recommend its submission to the government, although it's for Government to decide what the final Clean Air Plan includes.
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