UK city’s Clean Air Zone nets council more than £26m in first year

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A UK city’s clear air scheme has netted its council more than £26 million in the first year.

Bristol’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ) launched in November 2022 after the federal government ordered sure cities to cut back nitrogen dioxide air pollution in the shortest potential time.

Over its first year, after accounting for working prices, the CAZ generated slightly below £26.4 million for Bristol Council, in keeping with a brand new report.

The CAZ Cabinet report exhibits that air throughout Bristol is 10 per cent cleaner, on common, following the implementation of the scheme, with 88 per cent of journeys into the zone being made in compliant autos.

Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees, who will contemplate the report along with his Cabinet on 23 January, says in the foreword: “Millions of pounds of support has been paid out to Bristol residents and businesses to help them upgrade to cleaner vehicles.

“During the same period, my administration has proudly opened our city’s first new train station in almost a century, with another one on track to open this summer. We have driven forward ambitious plans for the future of transport in Bristol through a transformational mass transit system. We have continued to invest in active travel, completing pedestrianisation schemes inside and outside of the Clean Air Zone. After securing millions of pounds over previous years to retrofit buses in Bristol, these cleaner vehicles have seen passenger numbers rise despite challenges.”

Data from diffusion tubes, which monitor air high quality at almost 170 places throughout Bristol, exhibits that Upper Maudlin Street by the Bristol Royal Infirmary is among the many areas which have proven the largest enchancment, with air pollution there down by 27 per cent.

This new report follows one other from the Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) in November, which confirmed that Bristol had handed the first stage of evaluation, which means that it’s “on track to achieve success”. The second evaluation comes in the summer season.