THE Island has become the first in the country to introduce a scheme where people can scrap their cars for a free bus pass.
Southern Vectis has brought in the Really Green Car Scrappage Scheme, allowing residents to swap an old car, scooter, moped or van — even if they have only one day’s MOT left — for a £720 ticket to use their bus network for a year.
It is hoped the scheme will now be introduced across the company’s parent group and then the whole country.
In return, Southern Vectis has pledged to scrap every vehicle it takes in, hopefully removing older cars from the local market and ensuring there is a Green travel switch.
"I was mulling over ways of getting people out of their cars in a real, but imaginative, way," said Southern Vectis’s operations manager, Marc Morgan Huws.
"The government-funded car scrappage is a scheme that does nothing to tackle the fact we have to encourage people to use their cars less. We know if we get people to use buses they tend to switch for the long-term. The problem is how we get them to switch in the first place. Our target audience is really the second car. Many families feel the need for one car but the second one is a marginal purchase, often something cheap and cheerful.
"The costs are often overlooked until it’s time to tax, MOT or insure the car. We know, in the current economic climate, and with big job losses on the Island, people will question the cost of a second car. Sale prices are low and often the decision comes to a head when a car needs an MOT or major work.
"The dilemma arises of whether or not to spend money on it which is rarely recovered if the car is sold."
The scheme, launched this week, is being marketed heavily with high-profile billboards and bus-back adverts.
• For more information, visit www.scrapmymotor.com or call 01983 827000.
Reporter: richardw@iwcpmail.co.uk