Researchers at the University of Bath want to hear from people living or working in Bristol ahead of the City’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ), which is being introduced on Monday 28 November.

Next week, Bristol will join a growing list of cities to introduce a CAZ. It is designed to reduce air pollution from more polluting vehicles, and encourage the use of cleaner vehicles, public transport, walking, and cycling.

The scheme encompasses the City centre (see Bristol City Council’s map) and applies to petrol vehicles registered roughly before 2006 and diesel vehicles registered before the end of 2015 (see criteria and check your registration).

Alongside the CAZ, Bristol City Council are introducing loans and grants, and active travel support to help people transition to cleaner ways to travel.

At the University of Bath, a team of researchers are hoping to understand people’s experiences of travelling in Bristol, how this could be improved, and how the CAZ might change people’s travel habits.

The team is also seeking to understand different people’s attitudes about Bristol’s CAZ, before and after it is introduced. They want to hear from a diverse range of people – whether you are in favour of the CAZ, against it, or unsure.

The short online survey will remain open until Sunday 27 November, in advance of the CAZ’s introduction. To understand people’s views about the CAZ after its introduction, there is also a short second part of the study, to complete in three months’ time.

Lois Player, the lead researcher on the project, explained: “The introduction of Bristol’s CAZ might mean that residents and commuters need to adapt their travel behaviours. Estimates suggest that approximately two-thirds of vehicles won’t be charged, as they already meet the required emissions standards. However, this still leaves a proportion of people whose vehicles would be directly affected.

“We know there are challenges in adapting and responding to these sorts of changes, but we also know these measures are important for reducing air pollution, improving the local environment, and protecting our health.

“With this research we want to hear from local people, to better understand people’s opinions about travel in Bristol and the CAZ. We hope that our findings will be useful to policymakers in Bristol and beyond, when introducing similar transport policies in the future.”