The Bay Area Air District is expanding its vehicle buy-back program to encourage the removal of higher-polluting vehicles from the road by increasing the buy-back amount to $2,000, an increase of $500.

Beginning on July 1, vehicles that are model year 2000 and older can qualify, the Air District said.

“The Vehicle Buy Back Program encourages owners of older, high-emission cars and small trucks to voluntarily retire their vehicles,” said the District in a news release. “Since older vehicles typically lack modern emission control systems, they disproportionately contribute to local air pollution.”

In order for a vehicle to be eligible, it must be model year 2000 or older, currently registered as operable, and has to have been registered as operable in the Bay Area for the past 24 months. Also, vehicles within 60 days of a required smog check must pass a smog check.

According to the Air District, the buy-back program has retired over 95,000 vehicles and has prevented “millions of pounds” of pollutants from affecting the air.

More information about the program is available of the Air District website.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.