More than 1,600 drivers were fined for not paying Newcastle’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ) charge in its first month of operation.
Council officials have confirmed that 1,658 motorists were hit with penalty charge notices (PCNs) for bringing a non-compliant vehicle into the CAZ without paying the toll from its launch on January 30 until the end of February. Some older, high-polluting vehicles that do not meet certain environmental standards are now subject to daily tolls of either £12.50 or £50 to come into Newcastle city centre, under efforts to slash illegal levels of roadside emissions.
The charges apply to older buses, coaches, taxis, and lorries for now – with tolls for vans due to start this summer, but all private cars being exempt. Newcastle City Council said that there were 1,476 journeys successfully paid for in the first month of the CAZ – fewer than the number of fines issued.
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The amount of income generated by the CAZ in its first month was £54,327.50 – made up of £41,975 in toll payments, £7,402.50 in paid PCN fines, and £4,950 from discounted seven-day passes for taxi drivers. However, transport bosses have warned that the figures come with a number of crucial caveats, which mean there are likely to be major changes that could see more vehicles charged and heavier fines levied over the coming months.
For example, many vehicles are currently subject to temporary exemptions from the CAZ tolls while drivers await the outcome of applications to receive upgrade grants. Motorists issued with fines for the non-payment of the CAZ toll are also currently being offered a reprieve – with the chance to only pay the original CAZ charge, rather than the full PCN amount of up to £120 on top.
Civic centre bosses have said that income from the CAZ will be primarily used to cover the running costs of operating the toll zone, with any extra put towards local transport upgrades.
A spokesperson for the Newcastle and Gateshead Clean Air Zone said: “The Clean Air Zone is in place to reduce harmful emissions from some of the most polluting vehicles on our roads and we will be monitoring the impact of the CAZ over time. We are still in the early stages of implementation and it is not yet possible to provide robust data that will accurately reflect how the CAZ is performing.
"The information we have at this stage reflects the early operational and enforcement arrangements that are in place temporarily and, when these come to an end, we expect to see an impact on the data. We intend to publish further updates on the performance of the CAZ as soon as we are able to do so.”
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