You’re in luck. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has expanded its Clean Cars for All grant program, which provides incentives to retire older vehicles and replace them with a clean air vehicle or Clipper Card for public transit, had previously been limited to designated communities. Now it’s open to residents living in all areas under the Air District’s nine-county jurisdiction.
The average Clean Cars for All incentive is $7,500 but up to $9,500 is available for eligible applicants. Applicants must live in the Bay Area and their household income must fall under a specified limit based on their household size. Furthermore, the vehicle to be scrapped must be model year 2004 or earlier and registered in California. Bay Area residents may check the program website or complete an application to verify their eligibility.
Residents may choose one of the following clean air transportation options to replace their scrapped vehicle:
- Battery Electric Vehicles operate solely on their electric motor. Electric vehicle batteries recharge by plugging into an outlet or charging station.
- Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles combine an electric motor with a gasoline engine. Plug-In Hybrid batteries are recharged by the gasoline-powered motor during braking and by plugging into an outlet or charging station.
- Hybrid Electric Vehicles combine an electric motor with a gasoline engine. These vehicles cannot be “plugged-in” to be “recharged.” The gasoline-powered motor also acts as a generator to recharge batteries on hybrids.
- Clipper Cards can be used for public transportation on all major Bay Area transit systems.