Combatting the rising cost of car ownership

If you forget to renew your vehicle tax, MOT or car insurance, then you’re liable to a hefty fine. Renewal reminders can be hard to miss if you’re relying on post, and some are not automatically sent.

Caura automatically syncs with the DVLA to show you when MOT and tax are due to expire and adding your insurance renewal date takes a second*. We’ll then send you renewal reminders over email, and in-app, when it’s time to think about renewing. Gone are the days of driving without valid tax because you didn’t know it was overdue. Insurance and tax payments are quick and easy to make, with competitive insurance rates and no hidden costs. 

Create your Caura account today: https://dl.caura.com/links/app

Your friend gets £50 off their car insurance when they sign up to Caura with your unique referral code. You’ll also get £50 of insurance credits to use at your next renewal when they make an insurance purchase. Keep inviting friends and watch your credits build up. Invite enough friends, you can end up bringing your insurance renewal cost down to £0!  

Not only can you bring your insurance renewal down to £0, you’re also getting a great insurance product and experience too. Quotes in 60 seconds from a panel of market leading insurers, quick policy payments in-app via Google or Apple pay (or credit card if you prefer), all your documents stored in-app and dedicated customer service from the Caura team at the touch of a button.

Download the app and head to the Invite tab to check it out!

*You’ll need to give us your insurance renewal date so we can get in touch at the right time. 

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/jun/08/price-of-uk-petrol-makes-biggest-daily-jump-in-17-years

[2] https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/car-industry-news/2022/06/17/fuel-prices-hit-new-record-as-wholesale-costs-fall?utm_campaign=17_06_2022_FN_daily_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=FN%20-%20Newsletter%20-%20Daily&utm_source=adestra&utm_term=Fuel%20prices%20hit%20new%20record%20as%20wholesale%20costs%20fall&gutid=299425

[3] https://www.autotrader.co.uk/content/news/vehicle-excise-duty-changes-april-2022

If you drive through a toll road or into a congestion or Clean Air Zone and don’t pay within the small window offered, you’ll receive a Penalty Charge Notice from the charge operator. Penalty Charge Notices can be up to £120 in Birmingham and £160 in London per offence. To make matters worse, government websites set up to allow drivers to pay these charges are slow and cumbersome, requiring as many as 20 steps to successfully make payment.

We’ve made it incredibly easy to pay these charges, it literally takes two seconds with Caura. No more filling out five pages of personal details every time you need to make a payment, you can pay in two taps on the app all with no processing fee or additional charges. Caura is the best way to be sure that you won’t receive a Penalty Charge, and because receipts are automatically stored in-app it’s also the easiest way to keep track of what you’ve paid. 

In London, you can set up AutoPay on Caura for ULEZ, LEZ and Congestion Charge. This means that every time you drive into a chargeable London zone, we’ll take the payment automatically depending on what your vehicle is liable for. No confusion, no fines. Keep your costs down while giving yourself one less thing to think about. 

Look at what charges you can pay for in two taps here: https://caura.com/payments/

The cost of living is increasing rapidly, faster than at any other time in recent years. One expense that’s rising is owning a car. 

Last week, we saw the cost of filling up the average UK car exceed £100 for the first time [1], and prices are continuing to rise with petrol now costing 187.51p per litre and diesel soaring to 194.17p per litre [2]. With fuel prices rising, April’s car tax increase [3] and Clean Air Zones being introduced across the country, car owners are seeing the cost of running their vehicle increase like never before.

Some costs are unavoidable, but there are ways you can run your car and save money at the same time.

At Caura, we’re helping drivers keep their car admin costs in check – offering ways to save money on car insurance, as well as making it easy to avoid unnecessary fines.

Insurance is a significant annual cost associated with car ownership, and you can’t drive without it. We’ve launched a referral scheme that lets you offset that cost, and even bring your insurance renewal down to £0!

When you refer your friends to Caura you give them £50 credit to use on car insurance, and you'll earn £50 credit for yourself if they buy a policy from one of our market leading partners. You can stack your credits, so by sharing Caura with everyone you know you could offset your entire renewal cost when you buy insurance via the app. 

Another cost category that is all too common is unexpected fines, from missing expiry dates (tax and MOT) and increasingly from tolls and city charges that can be hard to spot and easy to forget about. Fines come as a surprise and aren’t accounted for in drivers' monthly budgets – meaning they can have a serious financial impact. We’re working to help drivers avoid hefty fines by making sure they’re up to date on their admin, and can pay charges quickly with no hassle.  

Cost of living is on the rise, and the costs associated with vehicle ownership are increasing too. Caura streamlines car admin, reducing the risk of receiving fines, and can save you money on your car insurance when you refer your friends.

Combatting the rising cost of car ownership | Caura

A proper Brummie, he’s a strong, kind, cheeky chap that will be the heartbeat of the Games, overseeing the events and entertaining more than a billion people watching from Australia to India.     

The Commonwealth Games isn’t just a stadium event. It aims to inspire the whole city and spread vibrancy and life across high streets, neighbourhoods, parks and waterways with traditional art forms and more abstract bigger picture visions. 

The arts festival’s cultural programme will encourage people to explore, play and discover the region’s heritage. Plus, it’ll inspire young people to find ‘common ground’ in the Commonwealth through its three themes:

Stories of Birmingham & the West Midlands

The Urban Festival will embrace youth and diversity with music, free running, skateboarding, BMX, street dance and sport climbing. 

Zipping between venues means you’ll be all over the city. So, make sure you remember to pay the Clean Air Zone charge unless your vehicle is exempt. 

Tickets to the 2022 Commonwealth Games can be bought through ticket ballots until the end of July. To apply for tickets, create an account on the official Commonwealth Games website. You’ll then be updated on everything Games related and won’t miss out on any of the action.

Driving culture
On top of the global sporting prowess, Birmingham will also host a festival of culture, encouraging about 2.5 million people to get involved in an inspiring programme of creative opportunities across the West Midlands.

Who’ll be first out of the blocks? What new world records will be set? And who on earth is Perry the Bull? Continue reading and find out in our lightning guide to enjoying the Commonwealth Games.

Plus, while we’re talking about setting records, discover how to pay the Birmingham Clean Air Zone charge in just 5 seconds. Now that’s what you call a Personal Best in car management. 

Aquatics - Diving, Swimming & Para Swimming

Basketball 3x3 & Wheelchair Basketball 3x3

Who’s competing?
From Staffordshire swimmer Adam Peaty to Birmingham-born basketball player Myles Hesson, Birmingham 2022 has an impressive line-up of athletic stars. Joining them will be Brummie gymnast Joe Fraser, Solihull cricketer Amy Jones and over 400 more English athletes that have achieved qualifying performances. 

Where are the venues?
The Commonwealth Games will run between Thursday, July 28th and Monday, August 8th 2022 across a dynamic range of venues in the West Midlands. Arenas, stadiums and parks being used for the Games stretch from Coventry to Solihull, Leamington Spa to Sutton Coldfield.

The main sporting action and opening/closing ceremonies will take place in Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr.

Catch every foot-strike, stroke and shoot of the action here: 

University of Birmingham Hockey and Squash Centre, Birmingham

Named after Perry Barr (a suburban area in North Birmingham and the site of the stadium itself), Perry the Bull is the official Commonwealth Games mascot.

Driving in those zones means you’ll incur a fee unless your vehicle is exempt. If your vehicle meets the following emissions standards, you will not need to pay the daily CAZ charge:

For diesel / petrol electric hybrids, the vehicle should meet the relevant emission standards

Fully electric or hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles will not need to pay the charge

Still unsure? You can read more about the Birmingham CAZ and check whether your vehicle will be charged here.

Lee Valley Velopark, London falls under the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ). You can check if you're exempt from this charge by downloading the Caura app and entering your vehicle registration number.

Will my car be charged driving in the Clean Air Zone? 

To meet sustainability goals and create a greener world for tomorrow, Birmingham has a Clean Air Zone (CAZ).

The CAZ covers all roads within the A4540 Middleway Ring Road, but not the Middleway itself. This includes the A38 and tunnels. The zone operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 

If you’re heading to watch the events in Birmingham, these are the venues that would fall within the Clean Air Zone:

You can also follow us on our social media channels for regular updates, new app features and so much more! Find the links below:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caura

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/caura

How can I pay CAZ charges quickly and easily?

Just like the athletes, the app is performance-ready, enabling you to hurdle over complex obstacles on the road ahead.

From tolls to taxes, MOTs to insurance, Caura covers everything under one hood. Our unified app tracks, pays and never forgets. So, you can get on with enjoying the open road. Check it out here.  

The adrenaline is racing. Athletes are prepped and ready to perform. And the city is gearing up for a thrilling showcase of sport. The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will soon be kicking off.

With almost 300 events set over 11 days, 5,000 athletes from 72 competing nations and over 13,000 volunteers, this year’s Games are shaping up to be epic.

A van driver we spoke to who didn’t want to be on camera said he bought his diesel vehicle when “the government told us to buy diesels,” and he wants to hang onto his as “it’s better for my longer journeys, now I have to change and I can’t afford an electric car, It’s money-grabbing.”
Indeed in the early 2000s Gordon Brown as Chancellor introduced a new way of determining a vehicle’s excise duty (car tax). The amount a vehicle owed was determined by the CO2 output. A metric that favours diesel vehicles, but doesn’t take into account the other pollutants harmful to health that diesel vehicles emit more off such as nitrogen oxides and particulates. The result was an increase from 3 to 9 million diesels on the road. Millions of which are now liable to charges such as ULEZ. [3]

The health benefits of the ULEZ expansion and the desperate need for cleaner air in London cannot be ignored and the evidence is clear. The current ULEZ has reduced NO2 levels by 44% within its boundaries already. In Birmingham the effect since the introduction of their own Clean Air Zone in June has been similar. NO2 levels have fallen within the zone  by 20%, see our blog on Birmingham's CAZ here for more. Whilst the current ULEZ has made a difference, London remains the worst affected city in the UK, with concentrations of NO2 exceeding the limit by up to 95% in its most polluted areas. Research shows the expansion could prevent up to 614 deaths per year and London could see an additional £48m yearly benefit from the planned extension. [4]

It’s not just lives that will be saved, a study published in the British Medical Journal found that living in areas of London with the highest levels of NO2 pollution was associated with a 40% higher risk of dementia than living in one of the least polluted parts of the city, a shockingly high disparity. [5]

Florida is certainly not alone in having this opinion, TfL already makes £392.8m annually from the Congestion Charge and ULEZ, accounting for 16.4% of TfL’s total income in 2021. With the ULEZ zone increasing to include many less affluent areas, some people are viewing it as a tax on people who cannot afford to change to a newer vehicle. [2]

For some people like Terry, it has accelerated the inevitable.

“Me personally I’ll have to buy a new car, it’s coming to the end of its life, but would have probably got another 2 years out of it, so for me personally it’s not worked out very well”

Throughout our research into ULEZ one unsurprisingly prevalent theme has developed. Those with vehicles affected consider the financial impact first, and those who either don’t drive or have compliant vehicles largely praise the expansion’s health benefits. We asked the simple question on the London subreddit, ‘How’s the ULEZ expansion going to affect you?’ The majority of responses spoke directly to the cleaner air element of ULEZ and praised it.

Whilst not aware of the finer details Terry was aware of the ULEZ expansion in general. However many more motorists we spoke to had no idea the expansion was happening so soon. If there's one thing we have learnt from Birmingham's CAZ launch in June it's that fines for motorists forgetting to pay for ULEZ will go through the roof. In July alone Birmingham council issued 113,000 penalty charge notices to motorists forgetting to pay. With such a larger density of population and far larger zone, the number of fines could easily eclipse this.

Asked if he knew how he’d go about paying the ULEZ charge he wasn’t sure but when informed of Caura’s features: “Yes that would be very useful.” 

[1] https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/opinion/355032/londons-ulez-expansion-could-fundamentally-alter-uks-used-car-market
[2] https://content.tfl.gov.uk/tfl-annual-report-9-august-2021-acc.pdf
[3] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41985715
[4] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/04/uk-clean-air-zones-save-lives-and-money/
[5] https://airqualitynews.com/2021/09/20/hidden-harms-the-impacts-of-air-pollution-on-the-mind/

The laborious process to pay for the ULEZ charge using Transport for London's (TfL)  site is undoubtedly responsible for generating fines in its own right. It's a fiddly process, best tackled on a computer which often means waiting until back home at the end of a day and remembering to pay the charge. It's a 15+ step process that involves manually entering your numberplate, card details and email address. We built Caura to rebalance this process in the favour of motorists. By allowing effortless ULEZ payments in just two-taps you can easily make the payment whilst on the go during your day, meaning you're less likely to forget. Download below and get set up in seconds.

On 25th October 2021, London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expands to become 18x larger. The new 140sq mile zone grows outwards from central London, to cover everything within the North & South circular roads. According to TfL this will mean 565,000 cars in London will be liable for the daily £12.50 charge. [1] To put that in perspective, if each of the 565,000 cars drove within the expanded zone every day of the year, TfL would generate a staggering £2.5 billion in revenue. In other words, more than the entirety of their current income combined. [2]

With the expansion representing the largest change to London’s road network since the introduction of the Congestion Charge in 2003, we decided to take to the streets to hear from people who will be most affected and try and get a better understanding of the sentiment towards the expansion. What quickly became apparent was, despite a large advertising campaign by TfL, there is still a lot of confusion, unawareness and in some cases anger towards the change.

We first headed to an out-of-town shopping centre in East London, located a couple of miles within the expanded zone. With a full car park, it didn’t take us long to find motorists driving vehicles that will be affected.
We spoke to Florida (pictured below) about how the ULEZ expansion and £12.50 charge would be affecting her.

 “I won’t be coming here anymore, I can’t change my car now, because it’s a lot of money.”

We also asked her if she knows how to pay the new charge: “no, I know absolutely nothing…” After explaining it can be paid with two taps on Caura, Florida appreciates the functionality but still concludes the financial burden of the charge:“it’s just putting people down.”

Caura takes to the streets of London spread awareness and talk to residents about the ULEZ expansion on 25th October 2021.

Sebastian Peck, Managing Director at Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion Ventures, said: “In-car infotainment systems are currently primarily used for entertainment, communication, and navigation in our Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles. We are really excited about the prospect of seamlessly integrating the Caura platform offering in-car payment for parking, tolls, tax, and congestion, which would be a huge benefit to our customers. We are thrilled to back the Caura team’s vision of delivering a digital ownership experience that is setting a new benchmark for the industry.”

Hari Hundle, Managing Partner at TwinFocus Capital, said: “Caura has brought a convenient way for drivers to be compliant and insured into the hands of thousands of Britons. By bringing the systems to users across platforms we are excited to see how this app can change the way drivers buy insurance.”

Dr Sai Lakshmi, CEO and founder of Caura, said: “Our goal was to create a single app from which Britain’s 30 million drivers could manage every aspect of their vehicle’s management and maintenance, from MOT to tax to parking. Drivers today have dozens of single-use apps to manage this functionality, and since launch in 2020, we have demonstrated Caura’s value and benefits for tens of thousands of UK drivers. This funding will enable us to realise our vision and expand to all drivers with native in-car systems, starting with Jaguar Land Rover, and for Android and web users as well.”

The Android app is available here, and the web app is available now at app.caura.com.

New Caura products set to launch in 2021 include:

Native “vehicle companion apps”, embedding Caura’s platform into vehicle infotainment systems alongside maps, communications, and entertainment, enabling car owners to manage all aspects of car-related payments and administration directly while onboard

Android and web apps that enable drivers to manage every aspect of their car admin and payments from all major platforms

Continuous development of features and functionality to better manage parking, tolls, congestion charges, MOT, and insurance, including now serving Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ)

Plans for the future include re-introducing payments for parking and offering electric charging

Funding from TwinFocus Capital Partners, InMotion Ventures, Road Ventures, Pareto Holdings and Quiet Capital, and, alongside notable angels, sets up vehicle management startup to expand product offerings and grow team

21 June 2021 - Caura - a vehicle management platform which eliminates the avoidable hassle, stress, and expenses associated with driving in the UK, has raised $4.2 million to expand its products, including a new B2B offering for car manufacturers.

The funding round was led by TwinFocus Capital Partners, with participation from InMotion Ventures (the CVC arm of Jaguar Land Rover), Road Ventures, Pareto Holdings and Quiet Capital. Notable angels also joined, including Jon Oringer, founder of Shutterstock, Antony Sheriff, former CEO of McLaren Automotive, and Rob Wilmot, serial entrepreneur, investor, and advisor to the UK Government. Unnamed Apple and Google executives also joined the round.

Founded by Dr Sai Lakshmi, the former Apple exec who also founded Echo, Caura allows users to simply input their vehicle’s registration number to automatically set up payments for services such as city congestion charges, tolls, tax, MOT and insurance. The app, which launched in 2020, is currently available on iOS, where it is used by tens of thousands of car owners across the UK and has an App Store rating of 4.8/5.

The round was led TwinFocus Capital Partners and InMotion Ventures with investment Road Ventures, Pareto Holdings and Quiet Capital

The fresh identity invites everyone to experience what driving feels like when you Run The Road. A new, smooth logo – with rounded, playful letters – has been crafted to capture the joy of the road. The letter forms flow into each other and their shapes evoke screeching bends, making you feel the way driving should. 

The punchy, supercharged colour palette oozes with optimism and bounce, inspired by the world of cars and the joy of the road. Acid Green is the colour of Porsche racing brakes, strikingly balanced with nearly black ‘Night Drive’. The secondary palette of iconic Rosso Red and Electric Orange wouldn’t look out of place adorning the new McLaren F1 car. 

A refreshed tone of voice speaks of our personality traits – maverick, upstanding and resourceful. Just like our driving, our voice is fast, honest and defiant. We’re always finding fresh, clever ways to say things and make it easy for every driver to find what they need. 

The brand showcases photography full of people and places, making it feel real, human and relatable. 

The rebrand began by defining our purpose. What have we set out to achieve? How do we articulate our vision and character? 

Caura speaks to all drivers – but especially to the open roaders. Those who believe driving can be brilliant. Those who know there’s more to life than worrying about road tax. 

Welcome to the app that makes car admin easy. No fuss, no faff. Sorted. Here’s to sitting back and enjoying the journey. 

We’re working with drivers across the country, listening to what they want and need from the app – then using the latest tech to create exciting, future-defining features. 

Caura’s right at the start of a long, exciting road. Increased infrastructures and restrictions on our roads will lead to confusing digitised systems and more complicated car admin. So the need for an app that brings everything car into one place continues to become greater. 

Caura’s on a mission to fix a broken system.  

Because the way we manage our cars in the UK is baffling. With fiddly forms, slow websites and hidden fees, it’s impossible to go anywhere without sorting something car. And it just keeps getting more complicated. Clean Air and Ultra Low Emission Zones are popping up everywhere (rightly so) and there’s more city charges, tolls and taxes than ever before. 

As the list of car admin gets longer, so do our general to-do lists. People have busy lives that keep getting busier. There’s no time left to track pesky car payments, confusing city charges and forgettable MOT dates. That’s if you even know what you need to keep track of in the first place.

It’s the vulnerable who get caught out the most. Low emission zones target drivers with older, less eco-friendly cars – so ultimately the people who can’t afford the shinier models are penalised. 

The system’s unfair and we’ve had enough. Holding a ticket in one hand and a fine in the other, we decided to take car admin into our own hands. It was time we stood up to a process that’s fleeced us one too many times. We set out on a mission to change how people run their cars – for good. 

Using the latest tech, we created a super-fast platform that helps you sort everything car, all at the same time. From road tax to tolls to car insurance, Caura’s an easy-to-use app that puts all car admin in the palm of your hand. Revolutionary. 

Download the app and enter your registration number to bring up your vehicle details. Jump in the car, plan your route and pay for everything from ULEZ and Clean Air Zones to toll roads and crossings, in seconds. We’ll also help you pay for things you might have forgotten like the new Heathrow Drop Off charge. The app uses Google or Apple Pay so you can sort it in a few taps. Caura also sends you reminders to reschedule your MOT and road tax, so you’ll never forget again. Then to insurance. We’ve curated the UK’s very best, trusted insurers to offer you a quote and let you pay in under a minute. 

So with all these exciting features, we’ve decided to give Caura a fresh new look and feel. 

Caura makes car admin easy, and our new rebrand brings a fresh new look and feel to the app. Experience what driving feels like when you Run The Road.

Pay the Birmingham CAZ charge in seconds on Caura

Caura’s aim is simple, to enable motorists to simply manage their car without ever getting a fine again. All services are payable through the app with a few clicks via Apple Pay. 

Caura CEO, Sai Lakshmi said: “We want to help Birmingham motorists navigate the logistics of the  new Clean Air Zone, to ease the confusion or mitigate risks of motorists being surprised with a fine. This is a no brainer - it is consistent with our mission to ease the hassle and expense of car ownership.” 

“Current online payment systems are time-intensive and onerous. Caura’s three simple taps and payment through Apple Pay without fuss or commission, is designed to ease the hassle and expense for the tens of thousands of users of our app. The4.8 star rating demonstrates the value motorists are placing on using Caura making car ownership simple.”

London + Birmingham - 14th  June 2021  

Car management app Caura today announces support for the new Birmingham Clean Air Zone system to its free vehicle management app. 

As Midlanders struggle to navigate payments for the new  Clean Air Zone (CAZ), Caura is the only app motorists need to manage and pay for all aspects of car ownership: Clean Air Zones, MOT, tax, tolls to insuring their vehicle 

The Birmingham CAZ is potentially confusing to consumers - with unclear signage and instructions for payment. From 14th June 2021 residents of Birmingham will have to visit a website in order to pay for entry to the CAZ. Caura offers an alternative: a clear payment system for entering the zone which enables drivers to pay through the app without any incremental fee, within 5 seconds. 

. Users will be able to pay on the day of entry, or the day before or after, providing an easy way to pay, to avoid fines and time-intensive website pages.

Caura makes new Birmingham Clean Air Zone simple with payments in less than 5 seconds:

Free to download, Caura enables drivers to manage Clean Air Zone (CAZ) payments in addition to road tax, parking, tolls, London’s CC/ULEZ and even vehicle Insurance all through one app

Caura is designed by motorists for motorists to simplify car ownership and prevent PCNs (Penalty Charge Notices) and aims to save Birmingham motorists thousands in fines when the new charging system goes live on 1st June

UK motorists accumulate a whopping £2bn in fines annually which Caura aims to put right

Caura CEO, Sai Lakshmi available for interview on request to press@caura.com to talk about drivers’ plight against complex vehicle admin and payments infrastructure

The Birmingham Clean Air Zone is imminent, Caura is the quickest way to pay and avoid fines

Motorists in Birmingham fined £7m in July...

We’re all being encouraged to walk and cycle more, and to drive less, even switching to hybrid and electric vehicles where possible. To help enforce this local authorities are introducing low emission and clean air zones across UK cities, and the roll-out of these is set to accelerate. The positive impact that these zones aim for is clear, but what about the impact on those that need to drive, and who cannot afford to switch to newer vehicles that are exempt from the charges?

The London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) came into effect in April 2019 and is set to expand in October 2021. Birmingham introduced its own Clean Air Zone (CAZ) in June 2021 and has increased the controversy around such zones, prompting strong responses from government officials and local residents on each side of the fence.

Waseem Zaffar, the Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Birmingham City Council, is sure that clean air zones (CAZs) will improve air quality:

“I'm confident that this initiative will save lives, and provide a cleaner, greener, safer space for our communities in a part of our city that has a problem with poor air quality.”  - Councillor Waseem Zaffar MBE

Clean air zone charges are an effective tax on vehicle usage, but are these being fairly applied? There are several factors to consider, COVID-19 has rebalanced the way many of us work, meaning fewer people now have to commute daily. Government incentives in the form of credits or reduced taxation on electric and hybrid vehicles, which are typically exempt from paying these charges, have been enjoyed by those that can afford to buy these (often more expensive) vehicles. [3]

Those opposed to emission-based city charges point out that lower-income families are the least likely to be able to benefit from the increased option to work from home, and least likely to be able to afford newer and cleaner cars. [4]

Birmingham City Council themselves admit that less fortunate people are disproportionately affected and have known this since 2018 when they published a 125-page report titled ‘Birmingham Clean Air Zone Feasibility Study - Distributional Impact Appraisal Report.’ One of the aims of the report was to determine how different socio-economic groups would be affected by the introduction of a clean air zone.

"low income households across Birmingham would bear a disproportionate amount of the increased vehicles costs for personal journeys," - Birmingham City Council

AA President Edmund King echoes these thoughts and believes that these charges have a disproportionate impact on less affluent groups:

“CAZs in Bristol and Birmingham and the extended ULEZ in London are very blunt tools that create a tax burden for low-income families and workers.” - AA president Edmund King

It’s not an unreasonable statement to make when you consider that in order to be CAZ exempt, petrol vehicles require a Euro 4 engine, and diesel vehicles a Euro 6 engine. Roughly speaking this means that petrol vehicles first registered after 2005, and diesel vehicles registered after 2015, will not have to pay. Over 8,500 unique vehicles with a requirement to pay entered the Birmingham CAZ each day in July. These are more likely to be driven by those who have a requirement to drive for work, and who cannot afford to upgrade their vehicle.

How is Birmingham's CAZ affecting people?

With the zone less than 3 months old, it appears the intended deterrence of non compliant vehicles is working. During the two week soft launch from June 1st - 13th, 73.8% of vehicles entering the CAZ zone were compliant and didn’t need to pay. The following two weeks (when the zone began to charge) this rose to 80.4%. [5]

This 7% reduction in high-polluting vehicles driving in Birmingham's CAZ reduced NO2 pollution levels by up to 20% compared to the same period in 2019 & 2020. This has brought pollution down from levels that regularly registered between 45-60 micrograms per cubic metre to within the legal 40 microgram threshold. The area outside the zone has seen a 5% increase in the same period, presumably due to more vehicles now choosing to go around, rather than through the city centre. [6]

Then there is the financial impact. In July alone 112,772 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) were issued to people who forgot to pay the £8.00 charge. Assuming all of these are paid within six days of issue, before the fine doubles to £120, then the total revenue from these PCNs is £6,766,320. However this only tells a small part of the story. [5]

Small businesses within the zone such as zero waste supermarket ‘The Clean Kilo’ have spoken out both in support of the CAZ for air quality reasons, but also questioned the implementation schedule:

“good public transport and cycling infrastructure needed to be fully in place before it launched, with time allowed  for city centre businesses to recover from COVID first”
(The Clean Kilo, 2021)

Links between air pollution and respiratory illness are well established, and the impact of vehicle emissions on the health of those living in our busiest cities has been high on the government agenda for policy change. Poor air quality is linked to up to 36,000 deaths in England every year and costs society more than £20 billion. [1]

Two of the most dangerous pollutants are nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM2.5) both created by vehicles. Fine particles of soot, in the form of PM2.5, are of particular concern because they’re small enough to pass from our lungs through the circulatory system to all organs of the body, where they remain. [1]

Increases in asthma and other respiratory conditions are a problem, and exposure to pollution from petrol and diesel vehicles is linked to increased risk of heart attack and stroke. In Birmingham alone, more than 900 people died as a direct consequence of air pollution in 2020. This is understandably a cause for concern, particularly because it disproportionately affects children and the elderly, as well as those with underlying conditions. [2]

Failure to pay these charges will result in a hefty fine, £120 in Birmingham and £160 in London per offence, and easy-to-miss signage means that many will fall foul of these charges without even realising they have entered the zone. To make matters worse, government websites set up to allow drivers to pay these charges are slow and cumbersome, requiring as many as 20 steps to successfully make payment.

Despite opposition, the roll-out of such zones continues. Bristol is set to roll out its own CAZ in Summer 2022 [7], and Manchester in May 2022 [8]. London’s ULEZ is expanding on October 25th, becoming 18 times larger, impacting an additional 350,000 vehicles [9] and residents. There will be no exemption for those that live within the zone, which extends to the north and south circular roads, the area within which is primarily residential.

https://www.blf.org.uk/taskforce/data-tracker/air-quality/pm25

https://www.ukcric.com/news/improving-birminghams-air-quality-monitoring-the-clean-air-zone/

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/plug-in-car-van-and-truck-grant-to-be-targeted-at-more-affordable-models-to-allow-more-people-to-make-the-switch

https://theconversation.com/remote-work-worsens-inequality-by-mostly-helping-high-income-earners-136160

https://www.brumbreathes.co.uk/downloads/download/39/clean-air-zone-performance-reports

https://inews.co.uk/news/birmingham-clean-air-pollution-charging-driving-city-centre-1185720

https://www.bristol.gov.uk/streets-travel/bristol-caz

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/oct/04/the-ulez-countdown-londoners-have-a-year-to-ditch-old-polluting-cars

Caura was set up to make life easier for drivers, making paying for ULEZ and CAZ charges a doddle. It takes two taps and three seconds to make payment via Apple Pay or Google Pay, with no processing fee or additional charges. Download and get set up in seconds, all you need is your vehicle registration number.

Motorists who drove into Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ) were fined at least £7m in July alone. The charge to drive in the zone is £8 per day, and the penalty for not paying is a hefty £120 per offence (£60 if paid within 6 days). Nearly 113,000 drivers fell foul to this penalty in the first month of the zone rollout, leading some people to question the effectiveness and fairness of the CAZ.

These zones are becoming more common, with rollouts planned in Manchester and Bristol by next year, and London’s ULEZ expanding significantly in October. We wanted to take a closer look at how these zones are impacting drivers, as well as those who live within these city zones.

As Clean Air Zones become the norm, the debate around their effectiveness and fairness grows. It's not difficult to understand why, given that 112,772 penalty charge notices were issued to Birmingham drivers in July alone. With each fine generating up to £120 in revenue for Birmingham City Council, there are questions being asked as to whether this is as a stealth tax on those unable to afford newer, cleaner vehicles.

Motorists who drove into Birmingham's Clean Air Zone (CAZ) were fined at least £7m in July alone.

How Clean Air Zones Are Impacting Drivers | Caura

Driver stories and your up-to-date guide on running your car, written by Caura’s experts. Keep up to speed with charge changes, new zones, insurance tips and much more. 

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