The Road Haulage Association has said that haulage firms could fold if plans to charge lorries to enter Greater Manchester from 2021 go ahead.
Clean air zone proposals would see pre-Euro VI lorries hit with £100 per day penalties in a move the RHA describes as punitive and anti-business.
RHA chief executive, Richard Burnett says that Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) plans are yet another attack on haulage and completely ignore the part it’s playing to improve air quality. By 2021 the sector will have slashed its NOx emissions by 70 percent in less than a decade.
“The GMCA should be putting forward effective and well-thought-out plans to improve air quality instead of punishing hauliers with crippling charges that won’t achieve anything.
“This is just another tax on the industry which would see many small businesses facing a battle to survive as they struggle to cope with the extra costs.”
He said pricing out trucks could see a modal shift towards vans leading to an increase in congestion and pollution in Greater Manchester.
