€25,000 deal: 18-30-year-olds can give up driving licence for cash from January
Minister Chris Bonett said details of the scheme will be announced this week
The government initiative to pay young drivers €25,000 to give up their licence will open next month and will be available for 18-30-year-olds who have a driver’s licence.
Minister Chris Bonett told Times of Malta the details in an interview that will be released in full on Friday.
Young people who take up the scheme would need to surrender their licence for five years and get €5,000 every year in return.
“It is one of the short-term measures we announced in April and which are on track to be delivered by the 18-month deadline,” he said.
Bonett first announced the scheme last April as one of a series of measures aimed at reducing the number of cars on Malta's roads.
At the time it did not come with an age limit and piqued the interest of many.
Many people, especially the older generations who were planning to stop driving soon, thought this would greatly benefit them while others questioned whether it would solve traffic congestion issues.
Others expressed interest in taking up the scheme, arguing it would not only earn them a nice chunk of cash, but it would also save them car expenses such as insurance, fuel and maintenance.
At the time Bonett said he would roll out the scheme by June, but when that deadline came around he said the scheme was yet to be finalised.
Then in September he told Times of Malta the scheme was on track to be launched soon and that it would be targeted to just young people, contrary to popular perception that it would be open to all.
During the interview this week, Bonett said he never changed his mind on this because he never specified the age bracket for the scheme.
He said that after he consulted with stakeholders he felt the scheme would be more suited to the younger drivers.
“No single measure will solve traffic, but each one will build on the other,” he said.
“I won’t say the problem has been solved, but people will tell you the measures eased traffic flow in certain areas. There’s more to be done but that was always the plan.”
Previously Times of Malta reported how, under the scheme, drivers who have a change of heart and decide they want their licence back during the five years will have to pay an undisclosed penalty to do so.
The measure will only apply to owners of passenger cars – meaning motorbikes, commercial vans and other such vehicles would be excluded.