RHA slams plan to charge Euro VI HGVs £50 to enter Bath

Bath & North East Somerset Council is set to launch a consultation on plans to slap £50 charges on Euro VI HGVs of more than 12 tonnes in a bid to improve air quality.

Operators of pre-Euro VI HGVs and coaches have been subject to £100 daily charges since the CAZ launched last year.

The scheme would be a local charge sitting outside the national Clean Air Zone framework which officials say could encourage a switch to low and zero-emission vehicles.

But the RHA has branded the move as premature, warning that hauliers will struggle to source costly new trucks as the market cannot yet support a large-scale switch to low and zero-emission vehicles.

A spike in demand could inflate prices beyond the reach of SME firms and there are widespread concerns over the readiness of alternative fuelling infrastructure.

Chris Ashley, RHA Policy Lead, Environment and Vehicles urged officials to look at alternative ways to improve air quality through better traffic management.

He said: “We share Bath and North East Somerset Council’s ambitions to improve air quality but we have to be realistic about how we try to do it. Simply taxing diesel trucks out of the city is not how to support small businesses through a costly and complex transition to alternative power, nor does it efficiently target the sources of harmful emissions.

“We’re ready to work with councillors on realistic, sustainable ways of reducing congestion and improving air quality in the city.”

More than 98 percent of UK HGVs run on diesel.

HGVs are responsible for only five percent of transport-related nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions.

The RHA will respond to the consultation in due course.