Travel & Tourism

Greater Manchester set to submit new non-charging Clean Air Plan to the government

Change is on the horizon.

Emily Sergeant - 19th September 2024

Greater Manchester’s transport bosses are preparing to submit an updated Clean Air Plan to the Government.

According to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), the preferred plan set to be submitted would still mean that there would be no charges for any vehicle driven on a road anywhere in n Greater Manchester, as was first suggested back in December 2023, as the alternative plan that proposed a benchmark charging ‘Clean Air Zone’ in the centre of Manchester and bordering parts of Salford would not meet the legal deadline.

On top of this, the revised plan will also crucially include updates to air quality modelling, corrections to modelled emissions of Government-funded retrofitted buses, investment into new buses, and a fund to help taxi drivers upgrade their vehicles.

As mentioned, a key element of the proposed plan is investment in cleaner buses, especially as the latest figures show that improvements to Greater Manchester’s bus fleet is already helping to improve air quality.

🐝 We’ve set out a compelling plan to show how Greater Manchester can meet clean air targets with a non-charging approach, investing in:

🚍 Zero-emission electric buses on our @BeeNetwork
🚕 A Clean Taxi Fund
🚦 Better traffic management

Find out more 👇https://t.co/Cbn2yTkGFl
— Mayor of Greater Manchester (@MayorofGM) December 13, 2023

Pollution in the region in 2023 was found to be “significantly lower” than the levels recorded pre-pandemic in 2019.

Despite having been working at pace to deliver the electrification of bus depots across the region, the revised plan does take into account a delay to a new all-electric depot at Stockport, which is now expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

A total of £86.7 million of Clean Air funding has already been allocated to Greater Manchester, and from this, the revised plan is looking to use £51.1 million.

This funding would go towards 40 new Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs), depot electrification in Manchester and Bolton, and 77 new Euro VI clean air compliant buses.

Greater Manchester is set to submit a new non-charging Clean Air Plan to the government / Credit: The Manc Group | TfGM

TfGM says that, in the revised plan, there is no change to proposals that would see £30.5 million made available to help owners of all eligible hackney carriage and private hire vehicles to upgrade to a cleaner vehicle.

£5 million will also be invested in local traffic measures to “better manage traffic flow” on Regent Road and Quay Street in the city centre.

Speaking ahead of the revised plan being submitted to the Government, Cllr Eamonn O’Brien, who is the Clean Air lead for Greater Manchester, said: “Given some of the changes that have occurred in the last nine months, there was a need to adapt and update our proposals for an investment-led, non-charging GM Clean Air Plan.

“We’re now in a position where that work has been done, and, subject to approvals, we can submit our updated plan to the new Government as soon as possible and await their decision.”

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