KEY POINTS:
A pilot scheme offering to scrap old cars for up to $420 of free public transport was launched yesterday in Auckland.
The Onehunga-based Broken Car Collection Company will collect any old hulks for free, but they have to remain in working order for up to 300 owners to qualify for an offer of two months' unlimited travel on the region's trains, buses and ferries.
Although having a flat battery will not disqualify a vehicle, it must be no more than two months outside a valid warrant of fitness and registration.
That is because the aim of the scheme - a joint venture between the company, the Ministry of Transport, the Auckland Regional Council and Auckland Regional Transport Authority - is to get polluting jalopies off the road before they are left to rust in their own backyards.
The four partners are sharing most costs of the scheme, but the authority has also set aside $10,000 to evaluate the transport habits of those taking up the offer, to determine how many may be persuaded to switch to public transport for the long-haul.
Regional council air-quality scientists will also test emissions from the vehicles, before they are scrapped and their materials recycled to non-transport uses.
Auckland Issues Minister Judith Tizard, who launched the pilot scheme, said emissions from late 1980s vehicles could be 10 or even 100 times greater than from newer versions.
Although only two car owners among dozens who called the collection company's free phone hotline yesterday had signed up by mid-afternoon, organisers expect to run out of free travel passes well before the six-week trial is over.
* To find out if your car qualifies for the scheme, phone 0800 009006.
