On 16th October 2018 Bath & North East Somerset Council launched a six-week consultation on proposals to charge drivers of higher-emission vehicles, including cars, £9 per day to drive within Bath city centre. In the wake of MAG’s victory in Birmingham, the Bath & North East Somerset Council is proposing, from the outset, to exempt all motorcycles and mopeds from the scheme.
Commenting on the proposals, Councillor Bob Goodman, cabinet member for development and neighbourhoods, said: “Like many councils up and down the country we have to address NO2 levels which are harmful to people’s
health, and we’re being told by the Government do to that in the shortest possible time.”
Councillor Mark Shelford, Cabinet member for Transport & Environment, added: “The council has looked carefully at other options, such as not charging higher emission cars, but technical analysis shows this would not be guaranteed to sufficiently reduce NO2 in the time available.”
Director of Campaigns & Political Engagement for the Motorcycle Action Group, Colin Brown, said: “We are delighted that there is a trend developing that clearly shows a growing understanding of the facts that we have promoted consistently on this issue. Motorcycles are not part of the problem – far from it. The emissions footprint of this economical form of transport is, and always has been, far superior to that for even cleaner modern cars on a mile-for-mile basis. The Euro emissions standards for motorcycles were introduced far later than for the car industry but, despite this fact, commuting on a motorcycle is still more environmentally friendly because they don’t sit idling in queues of traffic.
It is time that this inescapable logic is recognised in the capital. The Mayor of London and TfL need to wake up and listen to reason. It is not too late for them to get with the programme and announce their own exemption for motorcycles.”
The consultation for the Bath CAZ runs until 26th November 2018. MAG urges all riders to respond in support of the proposal to exempt motorcycles and mopeds from the Bath Clean Air Zone charges.
Full details of the proposals can be found on the council website at http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/bath-breathes-2021-overview
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