About Social Media Today
By JENNIFER DUNVILLE
dailygleaner.com
Two national organizations have teamed up to convince more Canadians to bike instead of drive in order to help the environment.
The Clean Air Foundation and the Bicycle Trade Association of Canada have expanded the Retire Your Ride program, which provides incentives for motorists to trade in their 1995 or older vehicles.
Some of those incentives include a few hundred dollars in cash or money toward a newer vehicle.
Janet O’Connell, executive director of the bicycle trade association, said the newest incentive will offer people up to $490 toward the purchase of a new bicycle.
She said the goal is to encourage people to trade in old cars and use a more sustainable form of transportation.
“We got involved in this national scrappage program because we wanted to offer an incentive that doesn’t just go toward another car,” O’Connell said. “People are increasingly looking for more sustainable transportation, and we wanted to give them the opportunity to opt for that alternative mode of transportation.”
Seven bicycle manufacturers from across Canada have agreed to offer discounts to people who have traded in a vehicle older than 1995, including Jamis Bicycles, Opus, Marin Bicycles and Norco.
Lisa Tait, a spokeswoman for the Clean Air Foundation, said to claim the incentive, participants must call the program’s 1-800 number or visit its website.
“There’s an application you have to fill out and then you send in your insurance to prove your car has been running for the past six months and is a 1995 or older model,” Tait said. “A recycler comes to pick up your car within a few weeks, and you’ll receive a coupon in the mail for the incentive you selected.”
Along with money for a new bicycle, Tait said some bicycle shops, including two in Fredericton, are also offering up to 15 per cent off parts and accessories.
“We’re officially launching this new incentive on Monday, but some people are already taking advantage of it,” Tait said. “Since we launched this program, our numbers (of participants in the scrappage program) have been steadily increasing.”
Despite the participation levels, David Coon, executive director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, has his doubts about the effectiveness of the Retire Your Ride program.
He said the concept is good, but the incentives don’t necessarily do much to help the environment.
“There’s nothing to say a person couldn’t use one of the incentives to buy another gas-guzzling vehicle,” Coon said. “It’s not a bad idea to try to get more people to bike, but are people going to go for it? I’m sure some will, and I guess it’s a good way to get your kid a new bicycle.”
Coon said he thinks the focus of the incentives should be to provide people a reasonable amount of money for a hybrid or more fuel-efficient vehicle.
He said $500 toward a new car or $490 for a bicycle isn’t enough.
“In the grand scheme of things, it’s not going to reduce emissions and pollutions from cars until we can get people to replace their old cars with low-carbon vehicles,” Coon said.
“I’m all for encouraging the use of bicycles, but with Maritime weather, most people will still want a car.”
Arthur Thomson, director of environmental initiatives for the New Brunswick Lung Association, said he believes offering people choices is the best way to get 1995 or older cars off the roads.
He said the older models emit 19 times more pollution than 2004 vehicles or newer.
“Any way we can convince people to take those cars off the road is a good thing for the environment,” Thomson said. “Already, since January, we’ve had 300 vehicles come in, just in this province. I think that’s fantastic.”
For more information, visit www.retireyourride.ca or call 1-877-773-1996.
