Update:
Always know your audience. As an MP who fully backs fairness and has lapped up all he’s been told, he feels there’s far too much misuse of the scheme and Drive Smart will solve that issue. However, he was surprised to hear the full detail of the impact it’ll have on our lives. He will look for clarity on the 6 journeys as he sees my point about not being suitable for disabled people’s use. The big one for him, though, was the 1 hour driving. He’s very keen on rural communities being disadvantaged and that’s very relevant to this limitation. If you live in some villages on the Cornish coast the main hospital is over an hour away and with hospitals having regional specialties sometimes you have to go to Plymouth which means his entire constituency is unable to avoid the red marks for each direction.
I also pointed out that the system doesn’t care who’s driving, if your phone thinks you’re driving then it’ll report your journey, which means a taxi driver who’s a maniac could ruin your week.
I also pointed out the unfair balance between BEV and combustion engined cars, specifically the Sportage/EV5 comparison at 2800 difference and MGs HS/S6 at 5300. He has read an article in Autotrader that suggests lease companies will be reducing the cost of leasing imminently. He did ask me to get back to him if October’s pricing is still unaffordable.
He was surprised that despite being told there are cars suitable for nearly everyone at nil or very low AP I said the very cheapest suitable car for me was at £2,999 this quarter and £1,999 last.
It does seem that the force behind these changes isn’t Motability but the elected officials.
Unfortunately 15 minutes really doesn’t last very long while you’ve a lot of points to make. I ran out of time before making a point about the commercial option giving choices while Motability has a take it or leave it policy.
I'm Autistic, if I say something you find offensive, please let me know, I can guarantee it was unintentional.
I'll try to give my honest opinion but am always open to learning.
Mark