Around 100 furious drivers took part in a “go-slow” protest on the M60 outside Manchester, where a new clean air zone is set to be launched. The car tax zone, which will be introduced at the end of May, will be the largest zone in the UK and will charge drivers with non-compliant vehicles to drive into the city.
The drivers that took part called on the local Government to cancel the proposed rules, which they see as a huge impediment at a time when household bills are increasing.
The protest lasted around two hours and caused one lane of traffic to be closed and heavy traffic to be reported in the area.
Manchester’s clean air zone will charge HGVs, buses and coaches £60 per day to drive in the centre with minibuses and vans being charged from June 1, 2023.
Hackney cabs and private hire vehicles will be charged £7.50 from May 30, 2022, although there is a temporary exemption for most Greater Manchester-licensed vehicles until 2023.
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“Now whilst I agree that vehicles that are filthy and are highly pollutant should be off the road, taxing people to use them which this is, is NOT the right way to do it.
“The way to get them off the road is to give people incentive to replace them.
“Offer them generous grants and scrappage schemes to change their vans (I am a van owner) and scrap VAT on Euro 6 and electric vans.
“Force the prices of these vans down (both brand new and second hand) so people like myself can afford to change our vans.”
A handful of other cities are expected to launch their own car tax zones in the coming months, with Bristol, Oxford and Edinburgh introducing new charges.
Somerset Boy claimed: “This is just another example of a money making scam by the Council.
“Ultimately it will backfire as, unless absolutely necessary, people will vote with their feet and avoid driving into the city centre.
“Bad for local businesses and ultimately bad for the Council.
“Just demonstrates you don’t need many brain cells to run a Council.”
Another commenter, Tenjie, said: “The ‘powers that be’ may think this a wonderful idea to pull in a bit of extra revenue.
“But what they will do is kill off the city centres ‘cos folk will refuse to go there.”
Similarly, MichaelWoods said: “All this will do is force more people to do their shopping online, then they will say the high streets are dead because no one is using them.
“It’s all going to be a knock-on effect and they will blame us for what they have caused.”
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