TAXI drivers have held a protest outside City Hall over concerns a planned Clean Air Zone could have a major impact on the industry.

Bradford Council plans to introduce a Clean Air Zone in the city in January. It would see the most polluting vehicles charged to enter much of the city centre.

Although private cars will not be charged, taxis and private hire vehicles that do not meet up to date emission standards would have to pay £12.50 per day to enter the city.

This evening dozens of taxi drivers drove their vehicles to City Hall to protest the plans and, what they argue, the lack of consultation with the industry.

The CAZ is being introduced after the Government ordered Bradford Council to reduce illegal levels of pollution in the district.

The Government has provided millions in grants to local vehicle owners to upgrade their vehicles to cleaner models - which would help them avoid the charge.

Over £10m in grants has been allocated to the taxi industry. Private hire drivers will be able to claim up to £3,200 to upgrade their vehicles while Hackney Carriage drivers can claim up to £4,000.

Bradford Council says these grants are the most generous of any city implementing a Clean Air Zone.

Asif Shah, Chair of Better Taxi Action Group, took part in the protest said: “With the pandemic, in these times of hardship, it is not feasible to expect drivers to fork out so much money.

Bradford's Clean Air Zone to be introduced in January

“Drivers in Bradford are quite concerned about this, as there has not been much consultation from the Council and we feel they have not really given us enough time. They have given drivers eight months to comply with something on which they haven’t really given much guidance.

“The lack of communication is a huge problem and there has been little clarity on the matter.

“Taxis make up about five per cent of traffic in Bradford, so if the Council is serious about the Clean Air Zone, why is not targeting other drivers, too?

“We are not against the Clean Air Zone at all, we just think that this can be executed in a better way, instead of it being targeted against an industry which has already been struggling.

“It’s been very difficult for taxi drivers over the last 12 months. There has been an 80 per cent drop in customers, which has had a huge impact. Drivers have had SEISS grants, but that only covers their costs – it adds nothing extra.

“Taxi drivers have been reliant on their income for most of their lives, and suddenly, it has come to a stop. People are struggling and it is causing a lot of mental health issues.

“It is having a much bigger impact than what meets the eye. Some drivers are having martial and family problems, which come back to the fact that they are struggling at work and are going through stress.

“We feel that the Council has failed to think about the impact its decisions are having on people and their everyday lives. The decisions they make can impact people a lot more than they realise.”

Mr Shah added that great lengths have been taken to ensure that the protest is Covid-secure and does not cause any disruption to others.

“We have been careful to not affect public services and the public – that’s why we’re holding the protest at 6pm on a Friday evening, after people have finished their school runs and things like that.

“We don’t want to disrupt people’s lives, we just want to raise awareness.

“We’ve also taken steps to adhere to Covid restrictions and protest safely. All of those protesting have been told to remain in the cars to minimise the spread of Covid-19.

“When the Council sees how many people are affected and upset by this issue, we hope they will reconsider.”

At a meeting of the Council's Regulatory and Appeals Committee on Thursday, some Councillors raised similar concerns.

Andrew Whittles, programme manager, told members that the amount of money being offered to taxi drivers to upgrade their vehicles was much higher than other cities. pointing out that when a CAZ was planned in Leeds taxi drivers would have been given grants of just £1,500.

He said the team regularly spoke with taxi drivers, had sent text messages to all taxi drivers informing them of the consultation, and placed posters at all private hire offices. He said the consultation was carried out to the “Nth degree” but it was beyond their control over whether taxi drivers took part.