TAXI drivers and operators across Bolton will be off the roads again as they stage their second protest over Clean Air Zone (CAZ) charges next week.

It follows on from protests that took place on January 10, where they staged a ‘go-slow’ protest in Bolton town centre, in opposition of the CAZ proposals.

The protest on Monday at Bolton Town Hall will mean that taxis won’t be operating from 11am-to-1pm.

There will however still be skeleton staff on call for emergencies.

Drivers say their main concerns are over the daily CAZ charges they will have to pay, and that they will also still have to pay this even if they aren’t working, due to also using the taxi as a personal vehicle too.

They are also worried about the financial costs of potentially having to purchase a car no older than five-years-old.

Vice chairman of the Bolton Private Hire Association, Mahmood Akhtar, said: “We will continue to protest until the CAZ is scrapped or we have a conversation with the council about funding.

“Nobody wants any trouble, but we are also fighting for small businesses and members of the public, because businesses will have to put their prices up to pay for charges.

“It doesn’t make sense to implement the charges because the cars that we can’t use anymore will still be used on the roads by the public, and they won’t have to pay the Clean Air Charge, so why are we being penalised?”

Drivers in Oldham and Bury are also expected to stage a protest in their areas on the same day and at the same time.

Nick Astley, owner of Metro Cars, said: “We don’t want to impact the public during school times, which is why we are doing this during the quietest times.

“If this comes in it is really going to affect the public because we will have to put the fares up to pay for the extra costs.

“We are not against the CAZ, but people could lose their livelihoods.

“We need to get out of the pandemic first, and let this be a gradual approach.”

There will be a meeting of the Greater Manchester Air Quality Administration Committee on Thursday, where there will be a recommendation to seek approval from the Secretary of State to pause opening of phase two Clean Air funding support until a review is done following crunch talks by Greater Manchester's leaders with Metro Mayor Andy Burnham last week.

Taxis will have an automatic temporary local exemption on CAZ charges until 1 June 2023.

The Minimum Licensing Standards (MLS) meeting to decide on whether taxi drivers will have to drive vehicles no older than five years old, has been deferred until February 7.

And the council say it is planning further engagement with the taxi trade before the MLS goes ahead.