Government approves non-charging plan to address Greater Manchester air pollution

The Government have approved plans for Greater Manchester to address air pollution without additional charges for drivers using the city-region’s roads.

Defra and the Department for Transport have signed off on an investment-led plan submitted by local government after concluding Greater Manchester’s proposals will meet legal obligations to reduce nitrogen dioxide pollution without the need for a charging Clean Air Zone as has been used in other cities. Instead, an £86 million investment to clean up the city-region’s air will include 117 new lower- and zero-emission buses and traffic-calming measures.

The investment-led package includes:

• £51.1 million towards bus investment, including 40 zero emission buses, 77 Euro VI standard buses and charging infrastructure;
• £5 million for local traffic management measures; 
• £8 million to support moving Greater Manchester’s taxi fleet to cleaner vehicles
• Up to £21.9 million for administration, delivery, monitoring and other associated costs.
• Local leaders have also been told they can review and cancel contracts relating to the Clean Air Zone, such as signs and cameras.

Air Quality Minister Emma Hardy said:

“Air pollution is damaging people’s health and the environment. Its impacts are felt more by low-income communities, making health and social inequalities worse.

“To improve our health, wellbeing and the environment, we must improve air quality. Local authorities know their communities well and so they need to develop plans that are most effective for their local area, and I am pleased that Greater Manchester has found a clear way to reduce emissions without the need to charge motorists.

“I look forward to working with the teams across Greater Manchester as they put this important plan in place. Government will continue to take the action needed to ensure everyone has safe air to breathe across the nation.“

Minister for the Future of Roads, Lilian Greenwood said:  

“Having completed the groundbreaking Bee Network buses, Greater Manchester is making fantastic progress in building a modern, sustainable and truly integrated transport network.

“Manchester will be able to reduce pollution from transport without having to charge motorists, and new, cleaner buses will help Mancunians get around easily while still bringing down emissions across the city.“

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said:

“We are grateful to this Government for listening to Greater Manchester and for this vote of confidence in our investment-led approach to cleaning up our air.  This is the right decision for Greater Manchester and it gives people here the certainty they have long needed.

“Because we have implemented the first phase of the Bee Network on time and on budget, the Government clearly trusts us to deliver and has seen the evidence that our approach is working. The Bee Network is cleaning up our air and keeping the cost of travel as low as possible. Its success is allowing us to remove a big weight of worry off the shoulders of people who need to drive as part of their job.

“We are grateful to Steve Reed and Heidi Alexander for backing us with funding to take our approach further and faster. We will now continue to work towards an all-electric bus fleet whilst investing in local traffic measures and supporting our GM-licensed taxi drivers to upgrade to cleaner vehicles.“

The UK has legally-binding targets to reduce the concentration of nitrogen dioxide in the air to an annual average of no more than 40 micrograms per cubic metre. Under Theresa May’s premiership, Greater Manchester had been mandated to introduce a scheme to charge drivers using the most polluting vehicles as a means of curbing nitrogen dioxide air pollution. However, plans, which would have only affected commercial vehicles such as lorries, vans and taxis, were scrapped following the Covid-19 pandemic after significant supply chain problems affecting the import of low emission vehicles made it harder to comply with the changes. Since then, local leaders in Greater Manchester have pushed for an investment-led approach to tackle poor air quality, with no charges for drivers.