Banning cars in parts of Leeds city centre has significantly improved the levels of air quality, local leaders suggest as data shows air pollution has halved over the last 20 years.
It is noticeable in the graph below that the amount of air pollution in Leeds has improved since the Covid-19 Pandemic. The reduction in traffic led to these huge drops in pollution levels and many people living in Leeds have adjusted to alternative travel such as walking and cycling, says councilor Barry Anderson.
Leeds is one of the leading cities in the UK with it’s pollution levels on the decline. One huge factor that makes this possible is the investments the city have made into its taxi services. Taxis and Ubers are now all electric, which has already massively improved the levels of air pollution.
“The taxi drivers have run with us and as a result, we have air quality.”
Vehicles have also been banned in the city square, encouraging more walking and cycling in the city centre.
Councilor Barry Anderson spoke about the troubles Leeds City Council have faced when trying to encourage not only people in Leeds, but the whole world to change their priorities when it comes to improving both air quality and climate change.
During the cost of living crisis, Anderson explained that it is a struggle for people to change their ways, and many people are concentrating on paying for essentials, rather than an environmentally friendly cars or solar panels, for example, to combat climate change.
Most people can’t afford to buy an electric car, nor do Leeds City Council have the funds to install the electric charging points that would be needed to persist with the number of electric cars that would be needed to make a difference.
Although air pollution is still a huge problem, especially in cities. It is still a large contributing factor to illnesses and health complications. Leeds.gov reported that around 54 in every 1,000 deaths in Leeds are linked to air pollution.
