A PILOT scheme urging people to travel greener has been hailed a success.
The four month Choose How You Move Leamington Spa scheme, which ends on Thursday, encouraged those travelling to Leamington to ditch the car and walk, run, cycle or use public transport, in a bid to improve the town’s air quality.
The pilot was run in partnership with behaviour change technology specialists BetterPoints – enabling app users to earn BetterPoints to redeem on the high street or donate to charity – and participants clocked up 46,700 miles in sustainable travel, saving 16,300kg of CO2 emissions.
BID Leamington, the Royal Priors shopping centre, Everyone Active and other local businesses also backed the scheme, offering prizes, rewards and discounts to users to encourage green travel.
Warwick District Council environment spokesman Coun Alan Rhead said: “I am so pleased to see that the scheme has enabled meaningful change for those who live, work, visit or shop in Leamington, and has made a significant reduction in carbon emissions in the town. I would encourage everyone to continue using the app to track their travel, and keep an eye out for any future schemes.
“However, there is much more to be done if we are to significantly improve the air quality in our towns. We are currently working on ways to make this improvement, which will encourage even more people to walk or cycle.”
The pilot also supported the aims of Coventry and Warwickshire’s Year of Wellbeing partnership which encourages people to take action to improve both their physical and mental health.
The council will now review the results of the pilot.
