Bay Area residents who own a vehicle manufactured before 1998 can now receive up to $1,200 as part of a vehicle buyback program to improve local air quality, the Bay Area Governor announced Monday. Bay Area Air Quality Management District .
The buyback program will pay owners of older, highly polluting cars and small trucks to voluntarily retire their vehicles. Older vehicles lack modern emissions control technology and pollute at a higher rate than newer models.
To qualify for the vehicle buyback program, vehicles must be a 1998 or older model, must be currently registered as operable and must be drivable, and must have been registered with the Bay Area for the past 12 months.