Birmingham has just introduced a Category D Clean Air Zone. From Monday 14th June, you will have to pay a charge if you drive a non-compliant vehicle, including private hire vehicles and hackney taxis. The zone includes all the roads within the A4540 Middleway Ring Road, the A38 and tunnels – but not the Middleway itself. It operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and charges apply daily. Money raised from this will be reinvested in transport-related projects across the city.
Charges and payments
If you do not meet the Birmingham Clean Air Zone emission standard, you will be charged £8 per day to drive a car or taxi in the area. A daily rate refers to the timeframe from midnight to midnight, not 24 hours from when you enter the zone. Once you have paid you may enter the zone as many times as you need to. Payment can be made on the day, six days beforehand or up to six days after. Payment must be paid within that time period or you will be issued with a £120 penalty notice. The online payment system is now live or you can choose to pay over the phone. It is also possible for businesses to set up a ‘fleet account’ for regular payments.
Compliant Vehicles
The main objective is to improve air quality, which means preventing older vehicles (that pollute more) from entering our cities like Birmingham. If your car/taxi meets the following guidelines will not be affected by the new charges. Compliant vehicles include:
- Fully electric or hydrogen fuel cell – all are compliant and avoid CAZ charges
- Diesel engines must be Euro 6 (VI) standard or better (this is roughly the end of 2015)
- Petrol – Euro 4 standard or better (roughly 2006 onwards)
- Gas – Euro 6 (VI) standard or better
- Hybrid electric – the diesel/petrol engine must meet the relevant criteria above.
Need a new Taxi?
At Cab Direct many of our great range of taxis are compliant with the Birmingham Clean Air Zone and could help you avoid the charges. Our hackney taxis, including the Mercedes-Benz Vito Taxi and the Ford Procab™, have diesel Euro 6 engines and are approved by Birmingham City Council for use as hackney taxis. Vito taxi not only benefits from the efficiency of the latest Euro 6 engine but also the fabulous Mercedes Benz three year, unlimited mileage warranty. whilst ProCab™ has been purpose-built to accommodate six passengers in comfort and style.
One of our most popular taxis is the Toyota Corolla with its 1.8L hybrid engine which meets the Euro 6 standards. We also have a great range of fully-compliant electric taxis, including the new MG5 EV, the Nissan Leaf, and the Kia e-Niro.
To find out more about the Birmingham clean air zone please click here. If you are looking to upgrade your taxi call us on the number at the top of the page or enquire online.