More Clean Air Zone delays as it's revealed 1,000-plus buses made green at cost of £15m might not comply
07.07.2023 - 18:35
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Hundreds of buses in Greater Manchester upgraded in a bid to bring down pollution might still not be meeting emissions standards. The government is now reviewing whether retrofitting buses at a cost of up to £16,000 each has worked, causing further delays in the region's Clean Air Zone saga.
As of March, 1,153 of the 2,063 buses in Greater Manchester were retrofitted to meet emissions standards, costing £15m. But in April, the government paused funding for the clean-up scheme, revealing that some retrofitted buses were not cutting nitrogen dioxide emissions as much as expected.
This puts Greater Manchester's plans to bring air pollution down below legal limits in doubt. Last year, the region put forward a proposal to scrap the charges that some vehicle owners were set to face under the Clean Air Zone.
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The controversial scheme would have cost taxis, vans, buses, coaches and lorries which do not meet emissions standards up to £60 a day for driving on any of Greater Manchester's roads except for motorways. But the plan was paused after a public backlash because, according to mayor Andy Burnham, the cost of buying new vehicles had risen significantly due to the pandemic.
The government agreed to extend the deadline by which Greater Manchester must comply with legal air quality limits to no later than 2026. If the legal limits are not met by then, the 10 councils in the region could be taken to court.
According to the latest air quality data, pollution increased in 2022 compared to the year before, but it is below the levels recorded pre-pandemic in 2019. Greater Manchester must now come up with a new plan to clean up the air.
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