Clean air zone charges arrived in Bradford on 26 September 2022 on a bid to improve the air quality and force taxi drivers to buy a new vehicle bearing in mind a lot of the taxi drivers cannot afford to buy a new car.
TAXI DRIVERS tempers rise as they are getting charged for the clean air zone whilst they work but others who are also polluting by attending work are not getting charged. Yet, the frustrations increase as they are paying £7 daily for the clean air zone during the living crisis.
During the coronavirus, taxi drivers were affected as they are self-employed which meant they do not have a fix wage. Due to this impact, their earnings decreased by 60%. As guidelines open and taxi drivers begin to earn their losses, they are faced with this daily payment.
A local said, 'It does not make sense to me. The air from outside the clean air zone areas is moving around as it is not a solid so the vehicles travelling outside the areas are still polluting the air inside the clean air zone areas.'
Another said, 'It is a money-making idea not an idea to reduce emissions.' 'Where does the money we pay go?'
Local taxi driver feels as though it is a way to exclude people who are unable to buy a new car. Taxi drivers feel that everyone should have to pay the £7 as they are excluding them from the rest of car drivers who are polluting the city and they are only a minority of drivers polluting the city, whereas a lot of the damage is caused by people commuting to work.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here