The idea to encourage car sharing, the use of public transport and electric vehicle hire schemes was put forward by Transport for the West Midlands, which is part of the WMCA.

Electronic mobility ‘credits’ will be offered to around 100 participants who give up their private vehicles and a new app will help them choose alternative means of travel. The measure forms part of a £20M Future Mobility programme.

“Instead of owning a car, people could have the freedom to choose between sustainable travel options, including public transport, shared vehicles, walking or cycling, all within one package,” said Transport for the West Midlands managing director Laura Shoaf.

“That would remove the expense of owning and operating a private vehicle and reduce the number of vehicles on the road, improving congestion and allowing vehicles and road space to be used more efficiently.”

Further aspects of the programme include an extension of a smart ticketing scheme known as Swift. West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said of the region’s new mobility plan: “We want to make it quick, easy and cheap for everyone to travel around the region by creating a range of reliable alternatives to private car ownership.

“People could leave their cars at home, or get rid of them altogether, and instead opt to take the Metro, train or bus to work, hire an electric vehicle to do their shopping, and share a taxi on a night out.

“This is a bold, ambitious vision for the future, and we’re confident we can prove the concept in the West Midlands and show the rest of the UK the way forward for the future.”

• West Midlands councillors have given the green light to plans for an extension of the region’s Metro tram network linking Dudley into an existing Birmingham to Wolverhampton route after approving a £450M funding package.

The scheme comprises 17 new stops along the 11km of track and is expected to reduce journey times by half compared to travelling by bus.

(Image: West Midlands Combined Authority)