The Birmingham Clean Air Zone will help poorer communities: here’s why

The Birmingham Clean Air Zone (CAZ) launched in June 2021. It aims to deter the most polluting vehicles from driving through the most polluted areas of the city. If you drive a non-compliant vehicle within the zone, you have to pay a charge.

Some people have claimed that the Clean Air Zone is a “tax on the poor” so we went off to investigate and  found that, in reality, that’s just not true - in fact, the CAZ will benefit people living in poorer communities, while the polluters who pay are mainly from richer communities.

Here’s why:


 
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1. Birmingham’s poorest people do not own a car

Half of Birmingham’s poorest households do not have access to a car1. They are not driving inside the Clean Air Zone so they will not pay any CAZ charges. The poorest people are more likely to be women, black and brown people, children, disabled people and pensioners. These groups are all more likely to live in areas that suffer the most harm from (other people’s) cars - the fumes, the noise, road danger, getting cut off from friends and amenities by non-stop racing traffic, and more.

2. The people who will be paying are mostly on higher incomes

Any charges for driving within the CAZ will mainly impact richer households, as 80% of the richest households own one or more cars. Plus, the richest households are four times more likely to drive to work, and half as likely to travel by bus as people on average incomes2. The figures are similar for the West Midlands as a whole, where nine out of ten of the richest households own at least one car.

This means that the people who pay will largely be richer people who own multiple cars and drive to work.

3. Birmingham City Council have put measures in place to protect the poorest residents and workers

Government impact assessments have found that lower income households who do own cars tend to own older vehicles, which are less likely to comply with the new limits. So to protect poorer people from paying the CAZ charge, the Council introduced a range of measures, and promoted them widely. They offer either a temporary exemption from paying the charge, or financial support to change their method of transport (apply via the Brum Breathes website):

  • People who drive into the Zone to get to work and earn under £30,000 a year (and work at least 18 hours a week) are exempt from the charge until 1 June 2022 and could be eligible for the vehicle scrappage scheme. Scrap your old car and get £2,000 credit for public transport, or £2,000 off a cleaner car3. Average annual salaries for all workers and all full-time workers in Birmingham and the West Midlands are below £30,000, so a large portion of residents and workers will be eligible. This gives people time to adapt and find cleaner ways to travel to work.
  • Anyone living in the Zone who owns a non-compliant car is exempt from paying the charge until 1 June 20234.

4. They improve the health of people who are most affected by air pollution

For years, air pollution levels have breached legal limits across the city5. Exposure to dangerous levels of air pollution can have a severe impact on the health of local residents. Public Health England credits it as the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK6. Short term exposure has been linked to worsening asthma and affecting lung function7. But long-term exposure has been found to reduce life expectancy, due to heart or respiratory disease, or even lung cancer8.

It’s no real surprise that air pollution is highest in areas where poorer households predominantly live, in and around the city centre. Housing tends to be cheaper in these areas, precisely because of the noise and air pollution from high levels of traffic, and less green space, like parks and large gardens. Black and brown people in marginalised communities are also more likely to live in poorer areas, a form of environmental racism .

So, cutting air pollution will improve the health chances of people in poorer households who live in and around the Clean Air Zone. Research into the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) in London and other cities in Germany have found that cleaner vehicles were also used in areas outside of the zones9, which is great news for people living just outside the Zone.

Meanwhile, richer people are less affected by air pollution, because they can afford to live in larger homes in areas further away from the city centre.

The Birmingham Clean Air Zone is an important step towards social justice, bringing us closer to a city where everyone, regardless of income, is protected from the harms that come with cars and motor traffic.

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Car Free, travel, getting-aroundRoween Rawat