Cambridge City Council has dropped plans for a congestion charge in the city in which HGVs would have had to pay £50 to enter the city.

Chris Ashley, RHA Policy Lead, Environment & Vehicles, said: “This is welcome in light of cost-of-living challenges – and a rethink of the approach is needed. We all want better air quality and less congestion, and we must find ways which avoid causing financial problems for communities and businesses.

He added: “We’re committed to working with public authorities to put in place workable solutions that clean up our environment. This should include greater investment in the infrastructure needed to power zero emission commercial vehicles and, from central government, tax breaks such as a fuel duty rebate linked to emissions reduction.”

As recently reported in The Mover, the RHA has urged policy makers to learn lessons from the London ULEZ and clean air zones and better support the transition to cleaner fuels. Mr Ashley said policies such as the ULEZ did not allow a secondhand market of affordable, compliant vehicles to develop. “We need to learn these lessons as we continue the journey to net zero. We must think differently – there are other ways to improve air quality. The rules must be attainable for everyone – we’ve got to make it easier for people and businesses to move away from fossil fuels.”

Photo:  Chris Ashley.