Cardiff could become the latest city in the UK to introduce a clean air zone and congestion charge for motorists. The proposed scheme, announced on Monday by Cardiff Council, would be aimed at improving air quality and reducing congestion and could see drivers charged for passing through the city centre. The council’s cabinet are considering the proposals in full at a meeting on Thursday, April 27, with any changes, if greenlit, unlikely to come in until 2027.
Until then, the council said that a number of initiatives including £1 bus fares and the Cardiff Central to Pierhead Station tram would be implemented before any road user payments are put into practice. But the question on many motorists’ minds is how much will they be expected to pay.
Cardiff Council's transport white paper from 2020 states that a potential future charging scheme would be targeted at vehicles coming into Cardiff. However, the leader of Cardiff Council, Councillor Huw Thomas, suggested that this might no longer be the case. At a press conference on Monday he said Cardiff people could have to pay as well.
