Drive in a clean air zone
Role
Lead Content Designer
Background
To comply with EU regulations, the UK government needed to reduce air pollution in cities across England and Wales. The chosen solution was to introduce charges for high-polluting vehicles entering designated Clean Air Zones. I joined the project at the beginning of the beta phase. The alpha phase had shown to support the national roll-out of Clean Air Zones, we needed to build three public-facing digital services, and five back-end interfaces for internal stakeholders.
Problem statement
Older, polluting vehicles are causing significant effects on public health. How do we reduce pollution by stopping those vehicles driving in pollution hotspots?
Key issues
Significant public backlash to the concept of Clean Air Zones.
Drivers don’t know if their vehicle is polluting.
Drivers don’t know where the zones are.
Business disruption in the zones.
Large impact on vehicle-based businesses.
Research and insights
A signiificant amount of user research was carried out, over 60 interviews. As well as attending industry events.
Many drivers didn’t know if they would have to pay the charge or not
Haulage companies would not be able to pay per vehicle, per trip. They needed a way to pay in bulk and keep a track of those payments
What we built
Public-facing services
A tool for drivers to check if their vehicle meets clean air standards
A payment service for drivers to pay a charge to enter a Clean Air Zone if their vehicle does not meet the standards
A business account to allow haulage fleet managers to check and pay for multiple vehicles at once.
Back-end interfaces
These were developed for use by internal stakeholders such as local authorities, the DVLA, and other government departments to input and access data related to Clean Air Zones.
What I did
Created clear, user-centred content from technical information to ensure services were easy to understand and use
Delivered the right information at the right time, including support content such as:
- maps
- exemptions
- discounts
- customer support resourcesUsed behaviourial science to encourage people to switch to cleaner vehicles
Ensured all content followed GOV.UK style and maintained consistent tone and language across all touch points
Prepared for two GDS (Government Digital Service) assessments
Prototyped and tested a unified start page to support GDS decision-making
Worked closely with the user research team to understand user needs and improve the service accordingly
Collaborated with business analysts to resolve technical and service-level issues
Regularly reviewed and iterated content based on user research and testing
Engaged with a broad range of stakeholders to ensure content and messaging consistency throughout the entire user journey.
Results
A reduction in pollution across all zones. Increased revenue for the cities that implemented them.
“Our work shows that clean air policy is smart policy. It protects health, saves money, and enhances quality of life - making the case for clean air initiatives stronger than ever.”
Dr Habtamu Beshir, lead researcher at the University of Bath. Read the full report.(Opens in a new window)
Awards
Digital Leaders Awards, COP26 environment award (2021)
World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) Global Innovation Award for Sustainable Growth (2023)
See for yourself