Newcastle's clean air zone 'makes no sense' say taxi drivers

Some private hire taxi drivers say a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) in Newcastle "makes no sense".

Taxis that do not meet clean air standards are going to be charged £12.50 a day from 30 January.

Private cars will be exempt but older taxis and lorries, buses and coaches will have to pay for crossing into the zone across most of the city centre.

One driver who sold his taxi questioned how it could be driven for free in the CAZ zone by its new private owner.

Neil Atkinson, who has been a taxi driver for three years, said he has spent £2,000 replacing his old car with an electric one.

"The car I've just had to sell, which is now privately owned, can be driven in the city for free. It makes no sense," he said.

"The idea is to make the air clean, but it's the same car I would've had to pay for as a taxi driver."

Newcastle City Council said: "As this is a category C Clean Air Zone (CAZ C), charges apply to buses, coaches, taxis (Hackney Carriages and private hire vehicles), heavy goods vehicles and vans that don't meet the required emissions standards.

"Charging for non-compliant vans will start in July 2023.

"Private cars, motorcycles, mopeds, newer vehicles and those with zero emissions will not be charged."

The authority said the introduction of a CAZ C followed a legal order issued by government to reduce "illegal levels of air pollution caused by traffic in certain areas".

David Lawrie, director of the National Private Hire and Taxi Association, said the rules would also see taxi drivers having to pay the charge when they were not working, if they used their licensed vehicle to travel into the city centre.

Mr Lawrie said: "The fact remains it's a licensed vehicle and the purpose of its use is irrelevant."

The council, which has denied the daily charges are a tax-raising scheme, said financial support was available for affected drivers and business owners.

A Newcastle taxi driver for 11 years, Graeme Close branded the scheme "a mess", saying he had not yet heard about a grant application he submitted in November.

"The car I'm driving at the moment is two months too old to drive into the city centre without getting charged so I have to replace it with a new vehicle," he said.

"I'd have to get finance and I don't want to tie myself to a £300 to £400 monthly loan payment, and to buy a compliant car I'm looking at having to spend between £12,000 - £15,000 and I haven't got that."

Both Newcastle and Gateshead councils said grant applications were "being processed as quickly as possible" and anyone who had submitted one and had not received a response, or was upgrading their vehicle through the grants process, would be given a "temporary 120-day exemption from any CAZ charges".

The authorities said 1,300 applications for financial support to upgrade or replace older vehicles had been submitted so far and a £50 seven-day pass was available to lower costs for taxis.

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