The North East Bus Operators’ Association has voiced its opposition against new government plans to introduce a £50 daily fee to enter the Clean Air Zone (CAZ).
Instead the Association is supporting alternative plans for the implementation of tolls on three bridges across the Tyne, which would mean that while buses would not pay a £50 fee, operators would have to ensure that emission standards were met, or be banned.
The proposed plans are part of a wider move by the government, to reduce emission levels by 2021.
The options which are open to public consultation are:
A £12.50 daily fee to enter the CAZ if cars and vehicles fail to meet minimum emissions, with Buses and lorries forced to pay £50 a day
Or alternatively tolls of up to £3.40 on the three major road bridges across the River Tyne – where buses that don’t meet the council’s emission standards banned from the city.
The consultation ended on Friday 17 2019.
