Finance Need: Bath Clean Air Zone Scheme is designed to help reduce nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution in Bath town centre. The scheme provides local businesses with a desire to reduce their emissions with finance support to reduce the costs of transitioning to cleaner vehicles.
The Situation: Centurion Travel Ltd, a local coach operator, required replacement coaches to reduce their emissions and cost of operating within the Clean Air Zone.
Currently, businesses operating non-compliant vehicles in Bath’s Clean Air Zone must pay a daily emissions charge when travelling in and out of Bath.
Under the scheme, businesses can replace their diesel buses and coaches with Euro 6 compliant units and benefit from subsidised finance and a deposit contribution in the form of a grant.
To qualify, an existing non-compliant vehicle is tracked over a period of three months to assess the benefits of replacing it with a compliant vehicle to avoid charges. Where feasible, retrofitting to Euro 6 is also supported by the scheme.
What Arkle did: In partnership with the introducer (Anglo Scottish Asset Finance) and the local authority, we provided finance for three vehicles under scheme, including a 2017 Irizar i6. The finance facility was supported by Bath & North East Somerset Council by way of a subsidy which delivered an interest-free finance facility over a seven-year term.
Arkle comment: Arkle Finance was pleased to help this family-run business to reap the benefits of running a more modern fleet, including reduced downtime, better economy, and in turn, continued value for their customers. The Bath Clean Air Zone is a scheme which we are delighted to support, and we look forward to assisting many more environmentally conscious and responsible clients.
