Reducing Air Pollution in Greater Manchester. Greater Manchester is looking at two key points:

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1 Reducing Air Pollution in Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is looking at two key points: Air Quality Carbon Emissions (for example fumes from cars, buses, burning fuels etc also known as Greenhouse Gases). We believe that air pollution and poor air quality could cause poor health problems such as asthma, cancer etc and can damage our country s finances (money). The UK Government knows that many built up areas such as Greater Manchester will not meet European Union Law on reducing air pollution by 2020 using the current action plan. Greater Manchester has an action plan which is already in place to reduce the amount of air pollution (fumes in the air) and has seen a drop in the area and is continuing to fall. This is still not enough to meet the target set and we need to do more. We are looking at a new action plan to reduce the amount of air pollution and are focusing on reducing the amount of energy we use and the fumes given off from road transport. As the Greater Manchester economy (money) and the number of people grow we will need more public and private transport meaning a tougher approach on getting cleaner air in the city. More information is shown below on what we are doing to reduce the air pollution.

2 Have your say Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) want to hear people s views on what they are looking to do to reduce the air pollution and greenhouse gases. You can give your views between Friday 4 th March 2016 and Friday 29 th April All your comments will be taken on board and will help produce the action plan which will be on the TfGM website later in To give your feedback, please fill in the form at For more information or if you would like a printed copy or if you would like to view this document in a different format (such as large print or British Sign Language video), please contact GMLES@tfgm.com Plan of action for reducing air pollution and the amount of energy we use What is it about? The plan and aim is to Work with the UK Government to meet European Union Law in reducing air pollution. Support Greater Manchester in reducing the carbon footprint. Reducing air pollution causing poor health. Background information Health impacts Air pollution, fumes from vehicles and from the energy we use is causing poor health to the public, the environment and the country.

3 Economic impacts (Money) With the health problems affecting the public it results in time off work and cost in NHS services. National policy Local authorities have a duty to reduce the air pollution and meet European Union (EU) rules. The UK Government realise that we will not be able to meet the rules and target set out by the European Union (EU) and this has resulted in legal action. Greater Manchester policy In the future Greater Manchester is expected to grow in the number of people, houses, finances (money) and travel. The target is to reduce the levels of Carbon emissions (greenhouse gases) to 48% of 1990 levels by It is important to improve the health in Greater Manchester because in some areas people have a lower lifespan. More people are claiming benefits and are unable to work due to their health problems. Emissions (fumes) in Greater Manchester In Greater Manchester road transport produces 75% of major air pollution (fumes). Major roads are the biggest source followed by Motorways. Greater Manchester is one of the major UK areas of largest emissions even though there are certain areas that have reduced the emissions being produced. The fumes from HGVs are due to drop sharply in the UK by 2020; the levels are still not low enough to meet the European Union (EU) target.

4 There is still an impact on health even at lower levels of fumes being given off. The EU has set a target of 20% less between 2010 and 2020 for the amount of fumes given off in built up areas. Fumes from transport have fallen but it is still not enough to meet the target. Areas such as heating and power being used, needs to be looked at and more needs to be done. The Way Forward There are lots of ways to reduce the fumes being produced and improve the air quality, which can be split into: Changing travel behaviour Managing emissions (fumes) Greener vehicle fleets Awareness-raising Not enough progress has been done to reduce the emissions (fumes) due to not focusing on problem areas, and greener vehicles have not made a big enough impact on the emissions (fumes) being produced than expected. Whilst we use public transport, walk and cycle more to reduce the emissions (fumes); this is not enough to meet the target without a major change in vehicle engines. We are looking to bring in extra cleaner vehicles when they become available and tackle the amount of car traffic coming in and look at HGVs and bus routes coming into towns and cities. Plan of action TfGM has looked at ways to reduce the emissions (fumes) but due to the current financial (money) climate this will be a problem if we replace older vehicles with the new greener vehicles. We may have to look at a scrappage

5 scheme or restrict access to certain areas if the vehicle does not meet the rules for the clean air quality policy. There are lots of hurdles to replacing the older vehicles with the greener low emission vehicles (Ultra-low emission vehicle or ULEV) such as cost, not knowing how to use it and where to charge it up. We will: Make a case to central Government for funding to speed up the process to have more greener buses (ULEV) and submit bids for funding if available Work with councils to think about setting an emission (fumes) rule for taxis Promote the use of low-emission vehicles by working with national agencies, vehicle manufacturers, fuel suppliers and developers Reducing emissions (fumes) from HGVs Drivers of HGVs can be encouraged to help reduce the amount of emissions by meeting at the edge of built up areas at large-scale warehouses and breaking down their delivery into low-emission vehicles ready for the final destination (place). We will: Look at the benefits of financially helping operators to be more environmentally friendly Look at using new rail or canal boats as another delivery system Look at creating large-scale warehouses on the outskirt of towns and cities Work with industries to reduce emissions Reduce traffic jams and improve journey times on the motorways

6 Reducing emissions from buses in towns and cities Low-emission buses are costly to run and Government funding is needed. In Greater Manchester the local authorities pay part of the cost in running public transport. TfGM is asking bus companies to help tackle the air pollution by meeting certain targets. We will: Look to set minimum targets for fumes from buses where possible Look at ways to replace the older buses to the lowemission buses Changing travel behaviour Getting people to drive less and use public transport more. There has been a lot of money invested in improving the public transport system but more is still needed to be done for example having a cashless payment system. The Government is looking at having one ticketing system for all modes of transport. There has also been money spent on improving the cycle lanes. More people are working from home due to the faster broadband speeds which cuts journeys and lower emissions (fumes). We will: Continue to improve public transport, cycling and walking routes Introduce a new ticketing system to be used on all modes of transport

7 Continue to offer a range of different types of modes of transport Looking at Clean Air Zones In areas where there is a Clean Air Zone (CAZ), vehicles such as HGVs and buses that do not meet the rules on emissions (fumes) will be charged to enter the area. There are good and bad points to a CAZ, it can persuade companies to change their vehicles and show the people of Greater Manchester we are focusing on cleaner air quality. But it could affect businesses and investment opportunities and mean older vehicles are used elsewhere instead. We will: Look at the impact of having a Clean Air Zone New development The rules for new homes/commercial properties (e.g. offices, restaurants, bars etc.) being built states that builders need to reduce the air pollution and meet the EU target on the amount of emissions (fumes). However, we need to provide enough homes and commercial properties to meet the future needs. In Greater Manchester, at least 10,000 new homes are needed each year up to The new rules allow new developments to be built if they are sustainable (eco-friendly) but there are different meanings of this and a clear guide is needed on the meaning of sustainable (eco-friendly). We will: Develop guidelines on reducing emissions (fumes) from new developments within Greater Manchester

8 Develop a toolkit to help planning officers to see the impact on emissions (fumes) from new developments (builds) Focus areas To meet the EU target, Greater Manchester is looking at certain areas that have a higher health risk due to the emissions (fumes) to test out their action plan to improve the air quality. These will be: Manchester City Centre and part of Salford This area has high emissions due to it being a busy city centre with lots of public transport and around 20,000 people living in the area with 16,000 new homes going to be built. M60/M62 Motorway Another area with high emissions is motorways, especially part of the M60/M62 Greater Manchester. It is already busy and is looking to get even busier with more traffic due to a number of developments (builds) in the area. Reducing the congestion is vital for Greater Manchester. Non-motorway routes Other roads into town centres have high traffic and this can impact on the environment and the people around the area. Major new developments (builds) New properties bring in more traffic so we need to look at how people travel. Monitoring and Review This plan is to look at various points such as: Lowering Emissions (fumes) Climate Change

9 Air Quality Local Transport There are already a number of measures we have in place recording emissions (fumes) and are sent to Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) each year: Emissions (fumes) from vehicles on major roads and road traffic Different ways of travelling to work The use of cycles Number of walking trips Bus emission (fumes) rules We will now be reporting two more items to GMCA: Background air pollution particle (dust and soot) levels Number of deaths due to air quality Science shows that emissions (fumes) are a factor in having poor health and damaging the environment. We need to do more to improve air quality for the future. Conclusion To reduce the emissions faced by Greater Manchester we need to look at the number and length of journeys made by diesel and petrol vehicles. Air Quality Action Plan Greater Manchester is looking to improve the air quality in the area. The main aim is to improve the air quality and lower emissions (fumes) and change behaviour and lifestyle by Also supporting the UK Government to meet the EU target on air pollution and reducing ill health.

10 Key areas have been picked out due to their location near major roads with heavy traffic in built up centres. We will be focusing on this to improve the air quality. Key outcomes will be looked at to help improve the air quality. They are: Reduce traffic: encourage people to use more public transport, cycle and walk Increase efficiency: improving traffic movement and reducing traffic jams lowering emissions (fumes) Improve fleet: replacing older vehicles that produce more emissions (fumes) to newer, smaller, cleaner, lower emission vehicles The Air Quality Action Plan or AQAP has been drafted up from meetings and workshops with key stakeholders, including the Greater Manchester local authorities, Public Health England, TfGM and Highways England. The plan has been divided into the following sections: Development management and planning regulation (rules): having a set of rules which everyone follows across the Greater Manchester area Freight and HGVs: there are a number of ways to reduce emissions (fumes) from the delivery of goods by roads Buses: buses are important to transport the public and improve air quality by reducing the number of private cars on the roads. New rules are helping Greater Manchester in growing the use of buses and improving their fleet Cycling: people are more encouraged to use their bikes due to the new ideas being brought in, such as better cycle lanes

11 Travel Choices: by giving the public and businesses more choice in ways to travel can improve the air quality Cars: by reducing the use of cars and the number of trips taken can improve the air quality Information and resources: educating and providing information to the public, businesses and policy makers is vital to improve air quality. What is it about? Like many areas in the UK where it is built up, Greater Manchester has areas that suffer from poor air quality. The draft Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) aims is to improve the air quality by focusing mainly on road transport and setting clear actions and outcomes. The main aim is to: Improve the air quality in Greater Manchester Fix low-emissions (fumes) behaviour into our culture and lifestyle by 2025 Support the Government in meeting and maintaining the EU air pollution target and reducing poor health in the area In July 2015, TfGM prepared and issued a document called Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2040; Our Vision showing what public transport could look like in This document also includes a number of outcomes to improve the air quality such as: Less traffic on roads and improved public transport Local environments that are not controlled by traffic, noise and pollution Cutting harmful vehicle emissions Reducing the damaged caused by transport to the environment

12 More people using public transport, cycling and walking Meetings and views on the vision will help produce a draft Transport Strategy and Delivery Plan, to be released in Air Quality Legislation (Law) The law for UK air quality comes from the European laws requiring certain limits to be set for air pollution. The two main air pollutants in the UK come from the fumes given off from petrol and diesel vehicles that are harmful to human life and the environment. All UK local authorities have a duty by law to research air quality and meet certain standards and if they do not, they must take action. Our two main goals are: Meet UK air quality law Comply with EU targets for cleaner air The UK law states we need to reduce the air pollution in areas like Greater Manchester by 2020, however to do this we need to take strong actions now. Understanding the problem Greater Manchester is one of the built up areas in the UK and Europe that has poor air quality and we are looking at different ways to improve this. GMCA and TfGM have worked together to produce an action plan on improving air quality. Diesel and petrol cars are part of the problem along with HGVs and buses. It is areas where the public are exposed to high fumes from these vehicles we will be focusing on.

13 Current Air Quality Improvement Ideas In the past 10 years Greater Manchester has made a number of changes to improve the air quality, such as: Providing more priority lanes to public transport and cyclists More travel choices Cleaner technology, fuels and practices such as lowemission vehicles Obeying the rules and laws set out by Government In 2014 a report showed that we are still not doing enough to reduce the air pollution and needed to focus on Key Priority Areas and there were a number of problems that played a part in the high air pollution in some parts of the area. A recent report shows that some emissions (fumes) have dropped in areas like the M60 but not as much as expected. Extra ideas in the Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) Air quality can be improved over time if we all work together. Part of the previous plan was to focus on using different modes of transport and the number of journeys we make. The aim in 2006 was to: Reduce traffic Improve the traffic flow Change older vehicles to more low-emission vehicles The new actions for the Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) will consider these and are divided in to the following sections: Improve the rules on new developments (builds) Freight and Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs)

14 Buses Cycling Travel choices Cars Information and support The Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) will be led by TfGM. Local authorities and TfGM will be working together to agree and take action on improving the air quality. Air quality will be studied along with bus usage and the number of electric vehicles on the road. The actions will be split into long-term, medium-term and short-term depending on the cost, benefit and timescale. Many of the actions will help improve noise, climate change, emissions (fumes) and social inclusion (person(s) lives). Some actions may affect the motorway network and if this does happen we will meet with Highways England to deal with this. Industrial (factories, businesses) emissions (fumes) are not included in this action plan as it comes under another plan. Actions for managing new developments (new builds) New developments (new builds) have a part to play in reducing the emissions (fumes) and improving the air quality. The rules from the latest environmental guidance will be used by all Greater Manchester authorities to ensure we are improving the air quality. Any new builds that require planning permission will be looked at to make sure it does not become overcrowded and affect the air quality.

15 TfGM will look at having areas of Clean Air Zones (CAZ), lowering the number of polluting vehicles entering certain areas to help tackle the air pollution. This will be looked at carefully focusing on the good points, bad points, economic (money), social (people) and environmental impact. The idea of having more 20mph zones could help improve the air quality by reducing the stop and start of moving vehicles (traffic jam) and it may change the way people travel, moving from driving to walking or cycling. The existing 20mph zones are being looked at and we are looking at other areas where we could put this in. Companies will be persuaded to look at their own ways of travelling and the use of low-emission vehicles. TfGM will work with licensing authorities on a low-emission guideline for taxis. Actions for Freight and Goods Vehicles The emissions (fumes) from HGVs are slightly higher than cars or other smaller vehicles. There are a number of areas that have a high number of HGVs travelling on it and to reduce the emissions (fumes) they give in these areas would make a good impact on improving the air quality. TfGM is working on a good guide book on how to save money and help the environment like improving the air quality for private and public organisations. Greater Manchester councils will also use this book and TfGM will support the use of it on new builds. TfGM is looking to create new urban freight distribution centres on the outskirt of Manchester/Salford and other areas where there is high number of HGVs, allowing them to unload their goods on the outskirts of the city centre and transport them into low-emission vehicles for delivery.

16 Local centres called Urban Consolidation Centres will be encouraged to be used to have one central shared place for the delivery of goods and collection of waste which reduce the number of journeys. TfGM and Greater Manchester councils will be putting together a policy to make this happen and encourage businesses to take this up. A plan to open the Northern Hub rail and Port Salford will provide another way of transporting goods either by rail or canal. This will reduce the emissions (fumes) from using HGVs from the Key Priority Areas. TfGM will also look into the use of real-time information provided by smart phones, apps etc which could help the freight and other transporting vehicles. These actions will be part of the Greater Manchester Freight and Logistics Strategy (plan). Actions for Buses Buses have a part in traffic in built up areas across Greater Manchester. They are another factor in the emissions (fumes); however the Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) would like to encourage the use of buses. Since 2000, more than 88m has been spent on improving bus routes and changing older buses to the low-emission vehicles. The Government is looking at bringing all bus networks under one management. Large projects such as the Leigh Guided Busway have improved the bus network and the use of park and rides and other modes of transport such as walking and cycling.

17 The Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) will look at new transport rules on the emission targets across Greater Manchester bus network. The plan will also look at new hybrid technologies and have eco-driver training. TfGM will consider a trial of low-emission vehicles like the range-extender bus similar to the new London Routemaster vehicles. Actions for Cycling By using the car less and cycling more it will help improve health and wellbeing. The actions will be in support of projects that are already in place. TfGM is currently working through a 20m plan as part of the Cycle City Ambition Grant Package which includes new cycle lanes, improving the cycle and ride stations, a Cycle Schools and Colleges plan and cycling training. In 2015 TfGM was awarded 22m more to spend on cycling improvements in Greater Manchester. TfGM is aiming to make cycling an everyday form of transport for everyone and increase the number of journeys made by bike from 2% to 10% by The plan is to improve the cycle network and provide an alternative to using the car and lower vehicle movement in Key Priority Areas. We will also look at having public cycle hire in busy areas and near transport hubs. Cycles and electric assisted cycles will be encouraged to be used to deliver goods in the city centre and for short journeys. Actions for Travel Choices Greater Manchester offers excellent public transport such as tram, bus, rail, cycle network all with great maintained

18 interchanges (stations). The Travel Choices plan is to improve the access, information and ticketing to allow more people to use the services. Car clubs help people to car share using smaller vehicles where they can either pay-as-you-go or pay a subscription fee for small journeys. It is being used at the moment in Manchester and Salford. The car club is a success and we are looking to introduce this in other areas. TfGM uses a system called Urban Traffic Management where it records traffic flow and journey times allowing them to pass on important travel information to the public and this will be used in the Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP). The Travel Choices plan has lots of tools which will be taken on board in improving the air quality. Action for Cars There are more cars on the road than any other vehicle and emissions (fumes) from the cars are high. Therefore, reducing car emissions will help meet the targets set in the Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP). Greater Manchester offers more than 200 electric car charging points funded by the Government s Office for Low-Emission Vehicles (OLEV). There was a 70% increase of electric vehicles between 2013 and 2014 in the North West. The plan is to have more charging points and encourage more people to have electric vehicles by: Finding more national funding Looking to install charging points in more residential (homes) and commercial (restaurants, shops, pubs, bars etc) developments

19 TfGM would work with local authorities on the use of private cars for their staff business journeys. We will also look at bringing in parking charges at local authority offices that don t have them at the moment. TfGM will work with local authorities on reducing the number of cars used for school travel. Actions for Information and Resources (Support) It is vital to provide useful information for travellers to help them plan their journeys and choose the best mode of transport. By giving accessible, reliable and current information using different media s it will help improve the air quality. TfGM is in charge of the GreatAir Manchester website that shows data and reports on the air quality. TfGM will also work with other providers of online mapping and travel information such as Google Maps to make sure the information is correct and provides different travel choices across Greater Manchester. An and text alert service could be used to warn people who subscribe about high pollution and give advice on travel choices. A report called Health Impact Assessment will be done to look at Greater Manchester air quality and the effects of air pollution on our health, providing evidence to show we need to improve air quality. A back up plan for areas where there is high pollution that is around hospitals, health centres and doctor surgeries will be looked at with the Greater Manchester Resilience Forum (GMRF).

20 TfGM will employ staff to work with key local authorities and support the delivery of the Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP). TfGM will collect data on air quality and will work with Highways England to ensure data from motorways is also collected and will be put on to a database for everyone. Automatic Number Plate Recognition will be used to collect information on the vehicles that are on the roads in Key Priority Areas. Next Steps and Summary of Actions It is important to carefully action the plan of improving the air quality and work on the good points. TfGM will lead on the plan for improving air quality. Air quality improvements will be recorded and looked at every year. A progress report will be brought out every year to include: New funding options, including bids won and lost New developments (new builds) Updates on air quality data Progress on meeting the targets/actions set out New transport legislation (law/rule)? Depending on the future situation, changes to the actions in the plan may need to be made.