Birmingham's Clean Air Zone
Alternative travel options
If your are the owner of a vehicle that will be charged (or you're just keen to reduce your own carbon footprint) there are alternative travel options to using a private vehicle:
- Walk or cycle: If your journey is less than two miles, consider walking, or less than five miles, consider cycling. Google will plan a walking route for you, or consult Birmingham City Council’s ‘Cycling in Birmingham’ page for cycling route options and further information or try Google Maps.
- Public transport: For longer journeys, could public transport be an option? If you travel on three or more days per week, a season ticket will work out cheaper than paying your fare every day. If you’re travelling on fewer days, make sure you get the best fares by using a swift card or mobile app. You can use journey planners including:
- National Express West Midlands journey planner for bus journeys
- West Midlands Metro journey planner for Metro journeys
- National Rail for journey planner for train journeys
- Network West Midlands journey planner(this can suggest walking and cycling routes too)
- Modeshift STARS: A free travel planning service available for businesses, organisations and educational establishments based in Birmingham
- Car club: If you only need a car for a few journeys a week – maybe to do the weekly shop – joining a car club could be a really good option. Co-wheels have a number of cars in Birmingham city centre, and all their cars across Birmingham are CAZ compliant.
- Car sharing: If you live and work near to a friend or colleague, car sharing could save you both money. There is a wide range of apps to help find car-sharing buddies. You should also speak to your employer about potential options available in the workplace.
- Car hire: For longer, occasional journeys, you might find traditional car hire works out cheapest.