Greater Manchester Is Hopping On The Caz Bandwagon

If you work in the courier industry, chances are high that you’re already aware of the Clean Air Zone (CAZ) schemes that have been (or are soon to be) implemented across the country. If not, where have you been?

The government is working toward tackling the high levels of harmful pollutants in the air, particularly in large cities, and, with London’s CAZ project underway, Greater Manchester is following with their own Clean Air Zone plan.

The Need for Cleaner Air

Since most harmful pollutants are invisible to the naked eye, in the past we’ve been rather complacent wandering around the busy streets and inhaling harmful toxins. However, it’s been revealed that emissions from road transport contribute to a huge number of health problems each year, and now it’s more important than ever that the government helps our courier industry tackle this pollution issue.  

The New Proposals

If the CAZs are put in place, drivers of vehicles that do not comply with the limits will have to pay a daily fee to travel within the zones. Following the success of this, funding would be granted to the haulage and courier industry, bus and coach operators and taxi businesses in order to help the transport sector move towards purchasing greener vehicles.

Note: The CAZ proposed by the local authorities will not affect private vehicles, since the commercial ones represent the most intensive use. Tackling the issue will not be easy, but if those contributing the most to the bad air quality have to pay the penalty, it will be a step in the right direction.

A range of other additional measures have also been introduced to aid the CAZ plan. These include:

• Supporting increased bus travel to limit the amount of cars on Manchester’s roads.
• General support to help people make the move to electric vehicles and other green transport options.
• Local authority fleet upgrades such as gritters and other maintenance tools.
• Potentially changing some council parking policies.

You Can Get Involved

Want to have your say? Well, you can! There is an online proposals survey available for those who wish to give comments or feedback, and plenty of resources and documents (also online) summarising the proposals – it’s a good idea to read these first before submitting feedback!

If you wish to speak out in another way, there will also be a public consultation where members of the public and the road transport industry can have their say.

So, if you’re in the courier industry, or indeed any other part of the transport sector, you may be looking at a greener future in Greater Manchester. Take advantage of the surveys and feedback platforms so that you can play your part in the Clean Air Revolution.

Author Plate

Norman Dulwich is a correspondent for Courier Exchange, the world's largest neutral trading hub for same day logistics work in the courier industry. Numerous transport exchange businesses are networked together on their website, trading jobs and capacity through what is now the fastest growing Freight Exchange in the UK.