Number plate sales raise more than £1.5m

Tuesday 25 July 2017

Jersey’s Driver and Vehicle Standards Department has raised more than £1.5m by selling and auctioning low-digit and interesting vehicle number plates over the past four and a half years.

In 2013, JSY1 achieved a record ‘hammer’ price of £65,000. Just two weeks ago, however, J27 swiped the top spot after raking in £73,000.

While the quirky plates do tend to pull in a good deal of interest, not all are successful. The much-hyped emergency J999, which had a guide price of around £40,000, failed to be picked up by any islanders in a hurry earlier this month.

Although the money goes to the Treasury, Driver and Vehicle Standards (DVS) does benefit.

According to information released under the Freedom of Information (FOI) law, the first £100,000 raised every year is used to offset the department’s running costs but the remaining money can be used to, “...offset shortfalls in other DVS income lines, offset other related ‘transport’ expenditure or can be utilised for other purposes subject to obtaining further permissions from the Treasury and Resources Minister.”

Pictured: In recent years, money earned from sales of the quirky number plates has been channelled into road safety schemes, as well as bus shelter maintenance and upgrades.

The reply goes on to say: “Net underspends remaining at the end of the year may also be rolled forward to the following year subject to Council of Ministers and Treasury and Resources Ministerial approval.”

In the previous three years, money has been spent on replacing vehicle test station equipment; upgrading and replacing vehicle registration systems; and on bus shelters and road safety schemes.