£3k a year to ditch your car and get the bus instead

‘Scrappage schemes’

DRIVERS willing to leave their cars at home in favour of greener modes of transport will be given up to £3,000 a year in a taxpayerfunded trial.

Participants will use a pre-loaded card to cover their alternative travel costs. The travel ‘credit’ cards and a sister app will track spending on public transport as well as schemes such as bicycle sharing and electric car hire.

The Government-backed pilot will be used to analyse how much it costs motorists to shift their transport habits to more environmentally-friendly alternatives.

It will be tested in Coventry before being rolled out across the West Midlands. About 100 people are ini- tially expected to take part for two to three years.

The plan, part of a £20million programme, is aimed at reducing congestion and air pollution amid concerns about the levels of toxic fumes in British towns and cities.

The amount available to each participant is yet to be finalised but is expected to be between £2,000 and £3,000 a year.

It is hoped that in the long term, the scheme could be funded by green companies and public transport providers rather than taxpayers’ money.

John Seddon, Coventry city council’s head of transport and innovation, told The Times: ‘We see it as a variant of scrappage schemes. But rather than trading in an old car for a newer one, it is trading in the car for the ability to use other modes of transport.’