An driver has been slapped with two fines in less than 24 hours after unknowingly driving through Bristol’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ). It includes one route, which has previously been dubbed a “trap”.
Francis Hallam from Exeter says his son was driving into Bristol for the first time, completely unaware that the city was one of seven in England that has a clean air zone. He soon received two Penalty Charge Notices – one as he entered the zone and a second one the next day as he drove home.
“My son has never been to Bristol in the car before,” Francis said. “We’ve heard about the ULEZ system in London and what’s gone on there but had no idea that there are now seven cities in the UK that have these systems. I certainly, nor had he or any of our family, heard of the Bristol one.
“He was invited up for the evening and was due to come back the next day. In doing so, he picked up two penalty notices, one going in and the other for going out. That brief visit into and out of Bristol has cost the thick end of £150 and I think that is exorbitant.”
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The system was introduced in Bristol in 2022 and charges older, more polluting vehicles a daily charge for entering the zone. For private petrol and diesel cars, taxis and light goods vehicles, this is £9 and for heavy goods vehicles, buses and coaches, it is £100. According to Bristol City Council, more than 71 per cent of vehicles going into the city already meet air quality rules and will not be charged.
The charge can be paid up to six days before travel, on the day of travel and up to six days after entering the zone. Motorists who don’t pay the charge will be issued with a £120 PCN, which is reduced to £60, plus the CAZ charge if paid within 14 days.
Francis says his son was caught out in what has been dubbed the ‘Portway CAZ trap’. Those travelling to Bristol Airport, particularly those who aren’t familiar with the city, have described feeling “mugged off” as they followed signs off the M5 to the airport and ended up in the clean air zone with no alternative route, BristolLive reports.
In June, Bristol City Council said it was “reviewing” its next steps after a Traffic Penalty Tribunal issued a judgement that the signs warning motorists approaching the airport were “confusing” and “not adequate”.
When Francis’ son was driving along the same stretch of road, he didn’t see the signs. Francis puts this partly down to the fact that he was in “nose to tail” traffic.
He said: “The second time, he was coming by this airport route where everyone has been caught. The photograph taken of him coming out on the way back to Exeter shows that he was in nose to tail traffic. No one is looking for signs when they’re caught in traffic.”
Based on the numbers on the PCN his son received, Francis believes there were more than 800 people who were also stung in just 20 hours. After learning that the scheme brings in millions each month for the council, he says more should be done to warn motorists.
“What incenses me is that they can get people in vast numbers that know nothing about their scheme,” he said. “They assume that everyone knows about this wretched system and they can just issue these fines willy nilly. Between his two PCNs, it was obvious looking at the numbering of them, that they had issued another 823 in the 20 hours between them.
“I really do think we need to do things about our climate, the air and all the rest of it but what I do think is appalling is that if you’re going to earn £31million out of a scheme like that, then you ought to have a means of collecting the revenue other than just putting notices up. My son didn’t see any of these notices.”
On its website, Bristol City Council says that the zone is “not intended or created to generate profit”. It says that the funds from charges and PCNs cover the costs of operating the zone, including the installation and maintenance of signs and cameras, staff and admin costs and decommissioning cameras of changes to the zone.
It adds that any leftover funds “must be spent on local projects”, including helping drivers of non-compliant vehicles upgrade by offering financial support and free active travel support.
But Francis says that people should be given more freedom to choose whether they pay charges by operating the fees in a similar way to the Clifton Suspension Bridge toll.
He said: “What I would like to see is what happens with the Clifton Suspension Bridge. I used to live in Bristol many years ago and you come up, you pay your money, you cross the bridge. If you don’t pay the money, you don’t cross the bridge.
“In the entrance points to the CAZ system, they should have a means of stopping people to pay or you are informed that if you don’t pay, you do a U-turn and go off in a different direction.”