Hundreds apply to exchange cars for mobility credits

Nearly 300 people in Coventry have expressed an interest in giving up their cars in exchange for Mobility Credits.

Transport for West Midlands TfWM has been running the scheme as a pilot since March and said it is working with 147 of those applicants.

Each can claim credits worth up to £3,000, to spend on public transport, taxis, bike share or a car club.

TfWM has also crushed 70 of the cars given up so far.

It has made £1m of Mobility Credits available, after getting £22m from the government to work on a number of pollution-tackling schemes such as on-demand buses, cycle hire and driverless cars.

It started the car-surrender scheme in March 2021 and said 71 people had been accepted by October.

The trial is due to run for two years and TfWM said it is looking for 280 participants in total.

It said the aim of the trial was "to see if mobility credits are an effective way of changing travel behaviour".

TfWM said it also hoped people using the scheme would save money as a result.

The results will be assessed by the Department for Transport once the trial has ended in 2023.

The on-demand bus service in the West Midlands invites people to book a journey at a time of their choosing, with minibuses coming to pick them up.

The cycle hire scheme has been launched in Wolverhampton and Sutton Coldfield, with users paying £1 to unlock a bike and then 5p for each minute.

They are set to appear in Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall later in the year, with 1,500 bikes due to be placed in about 170 locations across the region.

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