Alice struggled with her weight and had a lot of mobility limitations, and pain in her back, feet and knees. Walking half a mile was hard and took three days to recover. In late 2019 she had a gastric bypass operation to help her lose weight, and she took up more active forms of travel.…
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The UK Government yesterday published a review of its Transport Decarbonisation Plan, one year on. Decarbonising transport: one-year-on review. The plan set out the UK’s ‘greenprint’ to create cleaner air, healthier communities and tens of thousands of new green jobs across the UK. The review reports that almost 7,500 extra electric vehicle charge-points have been installed, supporting…
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Today is Clean Air Day, which, among other things, ‘showcases that a cleaner air future is both possible and desirable’ and ‘helps increase levels of air pollution-busting behaviours’. The appetite to change those behaviours is growing, and it would be a scandal if we missed a golden opportunity to feed it. It’s no news to…
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Suzy was commuting by car five days a week until she joined Leicestershire’s Choose How You Move programme. She now makes that journey on two feet. Choose How You Move is run jointly by Leicester City Council and Leicestershire Country Council, to encourage people to replace car journeys with active travel – walking, wheeling, cycling…
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Today is World Health Day. The theme is ‘Our planet, our health’, a subject very close to our heart here at BetterPoints. It’s why our platform is purpose-built to encourage, promote and measure active travel: when people change their behaviour and travel actively – walking, wheeling, cycling etc – they are engaging in healthy physical…
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Jigna works for Leicester City Council and joined their recent Let’s Go workplace challenge. “Because of BetterPoints and the encouragement and incentives offered, I started walking a lot and resumed cycling”, she says. In March, more than 80 workplaces in Leicester & Leicestershire competed to see who could get the most staff to leave their…
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Leicestershire’s Choose How You Move rewards programme, powered by BetterPoints, enters its fifth year, having been recommissioned for a fourth time. Leicester City and Leicestershire County councils first deployed the BetterPoints behaviour change platform in 2018, to reward residents for walking, running and cycling instead of driving. During lockdown in 2020, we quickly pivoted the…
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Active travel initiatives are a really good way to help combat air pollution, and there’s new money to do it in England. Earlier this month, the UK Government announced £11.6m more for local authorities in England to tackle air pollution. Transport Minister, Trudy Harrison, said: “Active travel and the switch to zero emission transport plays…
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BetterPoints is delighted to be working with Wokingham Borough Council to incentivise active travel and reduce car use, particularly around schools and high-traffic areas, and raise awareness of air quality issues. The My Journey Wokingham Challenge, which is being promoted by the My Journey Wokingham team, is part of the council’s drive to reach net…
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Amanda used to drive to her job at Cardiff University but lost her designated parking space when lockdown arrangements ended. With the encouragement of the Changing Steps BetterPoints challenge, she has taken to walking and using the bus instead – and not just for work, but for social activities too. ‘I had to look for…
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More than 80 businesses in Leicestershire are already represented in a month-long challenge in March to reduce car use, with top prizes on offer from Santander Cycles and Rutland Cycling. First prize is an electric bicycle worth £1,000, provided by Rutland Cycling. Second prize is a Fitbit with £400-worth of outdoor walking gear. Santander Cycles…
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It is less than three years since Ansons Consulting in Scotland partnered with BetterPoints, opening up the Scottish market for us and giving them a powerful platform to change travel behaviours in the country. In that short time, BetterPoints programmes have incentivised active and sustainable travel in Arbroath, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk and Glasgow, and a…
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