The AA
Category: Motoring Organisation
The AA is the UKโs largest motoring organisation, with over 15 million members according to its website. As well as providing breakdown cover, it also offers vehicle insurance, loans and motoring advice, among other services.
Although the AA has made public comments in support of air quality measures and been a vocal backer of electric vehicles, it has also strongly criticised proposed Clean Air Zones. It lays significant responsibility with the government for encouraging diesel cars and opposes what it calls the โdemonisationโ of diesel vehicles.
The AAโs President Edmund King has expressed concern about low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) and other active travel measures introduced in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but has been generally supportive of active travel measures.
The AA describes its public affairs team, which represents its membersโ interests to policymakers, as the โmost informed group of motoring experts in the UKโ.
On its website, it states that โcampaigning and lobbying are at the heart of our workโ and lists โstopping fuel duty risesโ among its campaigning successes.
Research by Transport & Environment suggests that the UKโs 10-year freeze on fuel duty has encouraged car use and the purchase of less efficient vehicles such as SUVs. The organisation estimates that increasing fuel duty in line with inflation would have reduced CO2 emissions by 5.33 million tonnes per year long-term, equivalent to taking 2.5 million cars off the road.
The AAโs President represents the organisation on the governmentโs Motoristsโ Forum, which brings together road transport-related trade associations and campaign groups with the government to discuss priorities.
Funding
The AAโs revenue in 2018 was ยฃ979m, according to its annual report. Its roadside assistance branch recorded revenue of ยฃ841m, with 3.21m โpaid personal membersโ and 9.79m business customers. Revenue from its insurance business was ยฃ138m.
Air Pollution Lobbying
The AA calls air pollution a โworry for everyone, especially for those who live in urban areas or suffer from conditions like asthmaโ. It explains that โif someone has heart or lung issues and breathes in a lot of air pollution, their condition might become even more seriousโ.
On its website, it also cites a widely-reported joint study by the Royal College of Physicians and The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health that found around 40,000 deaths a year in the UK are linked to air pollution exposure.
Clean Air Zones
However, it has been critical of plans for charging Clean Air Zones in the most polluted UK cities. In an explanation on its website of these schemes, the AA argues that โcharges and fines only go so far, especially if drivers feel they’re being punished unnecessarily.โ
It makes a number of recommendations for how drivers can reduce their own emissions, which it says is where โreal changeโ occurs. These include avoiding โidlingโ, lowering your speed, walking or cycling for shorter journeys, and keeping your car in good condition.
Although experts agree these measures can help reduce air pollution, organisations such as the British Lung Foundation argue charging Clean Air Zones are the โmost effective and quickest way to reach legal limitsโ. Research by the Centre for Cities shows that schemes like Londonโs Ultra Low Emission Zone have cut NO2 concentrations significantly.
Ahead of the 2020 Budget, the organisation argued drivers were confused by the UKโs clean air policies as a result of councils setting up โvastly differentโ Clean Air Zones and said this was encouraging drivers to stick with โolder, more polluting carsโ.
In 2019, the AAโs President Edmund King argued that CAZ schemes could lead to HGVs being replaced by multiple vans, causing more congestion and pollution. He said that a minor increase in van traffic in recent years โprovides insight into how freight companies might be changing their fleets in the wake of CAZโ.
In 2017, the AA said it was โpleasedโ that a government consultation on CAZs โmakes it clear that such schemes must be a policy of last resort rather than introduced by defaultโ. It also claimed a majority of drivers view charging zones as โmoney-making schemesโ.
Speaking to DeSmog, an AA spokesperson said the organisation did not oppose CAZs as long as they had been through a proper review process but said they were not a โsilver bulletโ.
Low Traffic Neighbourhoods
AA President Edmund King has made a number of statements regarding LTNs and active travel measures. While King has cautioned against potential negative impacts and โunintended consequencesโ of low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), he has also said he supports an increase in active travel after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking to The Independent in January 2021, King stated that people should cycle more, walk more, and drive less as the country returns to normal after the pandemic. He said: โYou can walk, you can cycle. And one of the good things during lockdown is seeing far more people cyclingโ.
He continued: โSo when this all passes, hopefully some of us can think about not being so dependent on the car and using the best means for the best journey. Often that’s using two feet or two wheelsโ. He also noted that multi-car households could decline and that โmany people could relatively easily switch to electricโ.
In September 2020, King wrote to Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, stating that active travel schemes were โregrettably adding to congestion and poorer air quality rather than improving themโ.
He added: โUnfortunately, the lack of consultation is leading to growing levels of dissatisfaction and frustration across many road users, including some emergency servicesโ.
King warned in August 2020 that the return of the school run โcould see localised gridlock with limited public transport, more cars and less road space due to โpop-upโ closuresโ.
In July 2020, in response to emergency active travel measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, King stated that councils should not be afraid to review and roll back active travel schemes, including LTNs and pop-up cycle lanes, if they had โunintended consequences such as increased congestion and delivery restrictions on local businesses who are desperate to bounce back and aid the economic recoveryโ.
Diesel Vehicles
The AA notes on its website that diesel vehicles โproduce lots of soot (particulate matter) that can cause respiratory problems and contribute to the risk of cardiovascular diseasesโ. It acknowledges that while modern diesels have to be fitted with a โDiesel Particulate Filterโ, and that there is an aim for an โ80% cut in particle emissionsโ, the technology is โnot without problemsโ and the AAโs โpatrols are often called to cars with a blocked DPFโ.
Elsewhere, it acknowledges that โdiesel exhausts aren’t as clean as the standards, which new cars have to meet before they go on sale, predicted they should beโ.
It nevertheless claims diesel vehicles are โstill the best choice for manyโ and that there has been a โ’demonisation’ of diesel in the pressโ.
In 2018, it jointly commissioned a report with BT Fleet Solutions, a vehicle maintenance and leasing company, that found vehicle fleet managers were frustrated with โanti-diesel rhetoricโ. It also criticised the governmentโs โpotentially fragmented clean air policyโ, with schemes being decided at the local level.
It has also frequently blamed previous governmentsโ support for diesel vehicles as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions for contributing to the air pollution problem.
AA President Edmund King has criticised the โdash for dieselโ that occurred under Tony Blairโs Labour government and claimed that many of the people who purchased diesel cars live in suburban areas and are now โfinding that they could be clobbered by low emissions zones or extra parking chargesโ.
On National Clean Air Day in 2017, the AA called for a national diesel scrappage scheme in its submission to a government consultation on air quality, among a range of other measures.
The same year, the King said โdemonisingโ diesel cars was โthe easy position to takeโ, arguing the technology โstill has an important role to play in transport and servicesโ. He claimed that the latest Euro 6 diesel models produce โless NOx than a 10-15 year-old petrol carโ, so some air quality schemes were illogical.
Research on carsโ โreal-worldโ emissions published by the International Council on Clean Transportation in 2018 found that Euro 6 diesel vehicles had significantly higher NOx emissions than petrol equivalents and exceeded emissions limits.
The AA has also criticised government plans to bring the ban on new diesel, petrol and hybrid cars from 2040 to 2035 or earlier. It called them โstretched targetsโ and said they were โincredibly challengingโ, doubting whether there would be โsufficient supply of a full cross section of zero-emissions vehicles in less than fifteen yearsโ.
Electric Vehicles
Following the 2020 Budget, the AA praised a new ยฃ900m research and development fund for electric vehicles but said the Chancellor could have been โbolderโ by removing VAT on EVs, which the AA had been calling for.
The AAโs President Edmund King also said in January 2020 that โmaking it easier to swap a petrol or diesel car for an electric car needs to be at the forefront of the Budgetโ, calling for a large increase in rapid charging points and support for new EV battery โgigafactoriesโ.
King has also made positive comments about EVs publicly, telling a conference in 2018 that there needed to be a โmore concerted effort by us all to sell the benefits of electric vehiclesโ and dispel some of the โmythsโ.
He has also tried to allay concerns about EVsโ range, noting in 2017 that 300 charging points were being added every month and arguing that EVs are โcapable of meeting many peopleโs weekly, let alone daily, mileage on a single chargeโ.
Hybrid Vehicles
The AA has frequently defended hybrids as an important โtransitionโ technology between pure combustion engines and EVs. Its President has called plug-in hybrids a โpositive stepping-stone to full EVsโ.
Reacting to the news that the sale of new hybrid vehicles could also be banned from 2035, along with petrol and diesel cars, the AAโs Edmund King said manufacturers were โspending billions on developing state-of-the-art hybrids which are zero emissions for many journeysโ. He called it a โvery backward step that could backfire by encouraging drivers to hold on to older more polluting vehiclesโ.
Hybrids have been criticised by environmental campaigners because their emissions savings can be quickly wiped out by driving in petrol or diesel mode, while โextended-rangeโ electric vehicles can arguably offer the same benefits in terms of mileage.
Fuel Duty
The AA has been a long-time opponent of any increases in fuel duty. Reacting to the 2020 Budget, the AA said it was โpleased the Chancellor has listened to our calls to maintain the freeze in fuel dutyโ and called its ยฃ27bn investment in roads โfantastic newsโ.
Research by Transport & Environment suggests that the ten-year freeze on fuel duty has encouraged car use and the purchase of less efficient vehicles such as SUVs. The organisation estimates that increasing fuel duty in line with inflation would have reduced CO2 emissions by 5.33 million tonnes per year long-term, equivalent to taking 2.5 million cars off the road.
Key Arguments in Order of Prominence
- Charging Clean Air Zones (CAZs) should be a last resort after all other options have been exhausted
- Drivers are confused by proposed CAZs because they differ across the country
- CAZs could cause an increase in van traffic as hauliers move freight off heavy-goods vehicles (HGVs), worsening congestion and pollution
- Heavier polluters like HGVs, vans and taxis should be targeted before private cars
- CAZs are insufficient โ changes to driver behaviour are where real change happens
- CAZs will hit the least well off and other vulnerable people such as pensioners
- Charging diesel users will impact essential public services such as ambulances and fire engines
- CAZs look like congestion charging โthrough the back doorโ
- Local authorities could keep charging drivers just to pay for the maintenance of the zones
Areas Active
Birmingham: the AA criticised the council in February 2020 for installing signs about the cityโs Clean Air Zone, due to be implemented in the summer. An AA spokesman said it was โstupid and utterly confusingโ for them to be put up before the scheme came into force and said the signs were โbeing used to scare people from coming into the cityโ.
The spokesman also criticised the planned CAZ itself, saying it would โdiscriminate against people who are less able to buy replacement vehiclesโ and claiming that โmany pensioners will be hitโ.
He also noted that some other cities are โonly looking at charging the heavier polluters first – such as lorries, vans and taxisโ.
An AA spokesperson told DeSmog it wanted to see more support provided to low-income households in Birmingham.
Bradford: the AA was listed among a number of organisations that the council would be meeting with to consult on plans for a charging CAZ in the city.
Bristol: the AA criticised proposals to ban private diesel cars from the city centre during the day, arguing: โdiesel is the fuel used not only by ambulances, fire engines and buses but also essential services such as breakdown rescue, firms that make urgent deliveries such as to pharmacies, that unblock drains, plumbers and others that residents depend on.โ Vans, buses and emergency vehicles are not included in the ban.
An AA spokesperson told DeSmog it did not make sense for a 12 year old petrol car to be able to drive into the city centre while modern diesel cars were not.
Leeds: the AAโs public affairs spokesman Luke Bosdet suggested the cityโs planned CAZ could amount to โcongestion charging through the back doorโ. He also claimed the cost of maintaining the cameras used to enforce the charges could mean the council would โneed to catch drivers to pay for their upkeepโ.
London: the AA criticised plans to expand the cityโs ULEZ from 2021. Its director of fleet and SME services said that โsome businesses may struggle to budget for this radical step in terms of increased costsโ, arguing that there was โtoo much stick and not enough carrotโ in the plans.
An AA spokesperson told DeSmog that the organisation was โnot wholly supportiveโ of an expanded ULEZ but declined to say what support measures would be sufficient for it to back the scheme.
Southampton: in a call for a nationwide diesel scrappage scheme, the AAโs Edmund King said diesel vehicles were โcertainly not the only sourceโ and gave the example of moving ships docked in the city away from running on diesel generators and onto so-called โshore powerโ.
Key Actions
January 2021
Speaking to The Independent, AA President Edmund King stated that people should cycle more, walk more, and drive less as the country returns to normal after the pandemic. โYou can walk, you can cycle. And one of the good things during lockdown is seeing far more people cyclingโ.
He continued:
โSo when this all passes, hopefully some of us can think about not being so dependent on the car and using the best means for the best journey. Often that’s using two feet or two wheels.โ
King also noted that multi-car households could decline and that โmany people could relatively easily switch to electricโ.
September 2020
In September 2020, King wrote a letter to Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, stating that active travel schemes, which include low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), were โregrettably adding to congestion and poorer air quality rather than improving themโ.
August 2020
In response to emergency active travel measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, including low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), King warned that the return of the school run โcould see localised gridlock with limited public transport, more cars and less road space due to โpop-upโ closures.โ
September 20, 2018
The AA jointly commissioned a report with BT Fleet Solutions, a vehicle maintenance and leasing company, that found high levels of frustration with โanti-diesel rhetoricโ among vehicle fleet managers. It also criticised the government for its โpotentially fragmented clean air policyโ that allows local authorities to implement measures according to local need.
June 15, 2017
On National Clean Air Day, the AA called for a national diesel scrappage scheme in its submission to the governmentโs consultation on its air quality strategy, among a range of other measures.