London, UK; Clean air zones (CAZs), such as Manchester, have been delayed until next year because of the coronavirus pandemic, but that that will not give firms the time to recover after Covid-19 to generate cash for costly vehicle upgrades to Euro V1, according to the Road Haulage Association.
The government has said that the start date of all CAZs will be pushed back to January 2021, but the RHA has called on ministers to delay the implementation to January 2022, as the haulage industry struggles to cope with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The RHA says that “many, many hauliers are unable to see how they will be able to upgrade to new Euro VI lorries, or where they will be able to get the money to pay for the £100 charges”.
Rod McKenzie, RHA policy and public affairs managing director, said: “When we come out of this pandemic think of the enormous problems this industry will be facing. The last thing they need is to be saddled with the extra cost of meeting the requirements of the Clean Air Zones.
“Our SME members have very low profit margins of 2%-3% anyway and when this pandemic ends they will have very little cash in the bank – they will not have the money needed to invest in the new Euro VI trucks needed to comply with CAZ requirements.
“The industry needs more time. Adding another year would leave us in a much better position. These are really, really tough times for our members and adding yet more bureaucracy, red tape and expense at this critical time is the last thing this industry needs.”
