In the Spanish city of Murcia, the local pollies have come up with a unique solution to their burgeoning congestion problem.
Residents have the opportunity to trade in their cars for a lifetime pass on the city’s newly introduced tram system. Severiano Arias, the director of Murcia Transvia Society, explains:
“The point is to take cars out of circulation for the environmental benefits this brings. So we are only accepting working cars not ones ready for scrap heap because that would not serve any purpose.”
Cars can only be eligible for the program if they are in good working order and have a valid MOT (registration). Some of the donated cars have been displayed across the city in the form of sculptures that highlight the congestion problem in humorous ways.
Cars have also been disassembled piece-by-piece online, with one piece removed for every post on Twitter or Facebook.
This latest green initiative is just one of many designed to reduce Spain’s every growing list of congestion, emission and urban parking problems.
Early last year, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero proposed a plan to convert disused telephone booths into EV charge points and offered €6,000 (US$8,480) subsidies on electric vehicle purchases.
The scheme was scrapped after three months with just twenty cars sold.
Photos: Murcia , Via Telegrapgh
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