A council in England is planning to encourage people to ditch their cars for cycling, walking and public transport by launching an app that will reward users with free coffee, discounted food, and passes to local attractions in return for their green transport journeys.
It’s the brainchild of West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), the BBC reporting that the council is open for bids from companies who could implement the rewards app. In short, the local authority believes active travel and public transport journeys could be boosted by 25 per cent, residents being credited for ditching their cars with localised rewards.
The examples given are free hot drinks or treats at local coffee shops, discounted meal vouchers, and free or discounted passes for days out. WYCA hopes the app would encourage people to improve their health through their transport choices, while also promoting local businesses.
WYCA hopes the app, which would track journeys and reward users for choosing greener transport options, could see a “25% increase in the number of journeys being made on foot, by bike or using public transport among users”.
“Rewards offered should be localised as much as possible within West Yorkshire and suppliers should aim to promote local business growth,” the local authority has proposed. “Rewards should also be relevant to the audience and should promote reasonable changes in travel behaviour.”
The BBC reports the contract for developing the app could be worth up to £450,000 and companies have until 17 January to submit a bid. Work is expected to begin in March and the project likely to run until March 2027, with funding coming from the City Region Sustainable Travel Settlement, a source of investment awarded to West Yorkshire by central government back in 2022.
The concept of being rewarded for the miles you cycle is not an entirely new one. In November, we reported that the app Imatra has partnered with Garmin Connect to allow users to covert miles to virtual coins that can be spent on discounted cycling kit.
For every 25km ridden you get one Imatra Coin, which can be worth between €0.5 and €4 depending on what you spend it on. On Imatra’s marketplace there are more than 100 brands already, including Rapha, SRAM, DT Swiss, Pinarello, BMC, POC, Muc-Off, 3T and more.
Imatra founder and CEO Manolo Bianchini said: “We have worked hard to make tracking kilometres a regular habit for the users of the app. Now it’s even easier thanks to the integration with Garmin. We see this as a significant milestone for everyone who will benefit from this collaboration.”
19 thoughts on “Free coffee for cyclists? Council to reward cycling journeys with app offering free treats, discounted food and days out”
How about spending the money
How about spending the money on infrastructure? It’s the ONLY thing that makes people feel safe, which is the biggest barrier to cycling.
every thing else is just avoiding making decisions about road space
There’s over 50 schemes
.
Eh? Is that the “City Region
Eh? Is that the “City Region *Sustainable* Travel Settlement”? I know this is shouting into the void. And probably quite a few people would be keen to spend 100% of this funding on a new roundabout or two or filling pot holes … But what you’re saying is out of only 1/5 of the “sustainable” schemes which actually have “direct links to active travel” * one is … an app?
Do I have you right?
EDIT – for those who want to do the reading the overall CRSTS info is here (remember councils you can still get your roadbuilding and pothole filling money also – AND separate bus money!), indicative money allocations in 2023 here. List of West Yorkshire combine authority schemes here. Lots on the buses, some on charging points for cars. Hopefully someone can summarise all that and set it beside allocations for motoring and active travel specifically.
* As opposed to sustainable driving, sustainable ICE buses etc? And yes, I know this is in fact a term being used entirely seriously in some places… And of course in the medium term we will need a “strategic” fund to try to restore some public transport capacity as “a bit more sustainable (or at least more efficient / can create nicer places) than just more driving”. We need far more support for active travel AND much better public transport locally and nationally AND motor traffic reduction measures AND more effective road policing … etc
Much as I applaud this
Much as I applaud this tackling cycle theft would be a game changer for many.
Much as I applaud this
Much as I applaud this tackling cycle theft would be a game changer for many
So would a change from the police actively working against traffic law enforcement, cyclist safety and active travel in general
Quite. I’m going to assume
Quite. I’m going to assume that the budget isn’t there for the really useful stuff, like new safe infrastructure, but pockets of cash could have gone on all sorts of things that are the sticking point for at least some people. And getting law enforcement to change their mindset shouldn’t be expensive at all.
I don’t know the local circumstances and what is missing (perhaps all of it), but working with local shops to install decent cycle parking, or providing funding for free/cheap basic bike checks/servicing/classes to encourage people to dust down bikes at the back of the garage, along with some basic bike maintenance classes.
getting law enforcement to
getting law enforcement to change their mindset shouldn’t be expensive at all
I think we all fully understand that the police can’t be everywhere (or even in a few places) checking for traffic law offences, but when we do all the work for them it is perverse for them to be so forgiving of motorists at a time of incessant rabble-pleasing ‘cyclists go through red lights’ rubbish from the Torygraph and its hyper-junk fellows, and the consequent police anti-cyclist special operations. This is Polestar 2 OV74 URX
https://upride.cc/incident/ov74urx_polestar_redlightpass/
Below is Kia Sportage PL24 VSX doing the same thing
It’s so frustrating, and as
It’s so frustrating, and as you say, there is the potential for the police to get a lot of bang for their buck by taking advantage of the work done by cyclists and others with cameras. Moreso if there is a decent portal and good guidance and policies in place to encourage the most effective submissions. Most of the work could be done by a suitably trained member of the admin team.
Amongst other things, I blame bad faith takes by parts of the media and weak political leadership. There’s the whole ‘war on cars thing’, but also the choice on how to spend money. Yes, having any member of staff reviewing tapes, which at some point I’m sure will need to include a police officer, is in some areas an additional pressure on resources. And here in Scotland where we don’t even have a portal, there is an obsession with counting the number of ‘front line police’, which I suspect happens elsewhere too. The consequence is that they have got rid of a lot of admin and other support staff, and use trained officers to fill that gap. It’s not a good use of their time or our money, but it does let politicians claim a higher number of officers without having to spend the proper amount of money.
To me, refusing to use a portal, or taking submissions of sufficient quality seriously, is the waste of money, and a dereliction of duty.
there is the potential for
there is the potential for the police to get a lot of bang for their buck by taking advantage of the work done by cyclists and others with cameras
Except where you have to endure the wrong type of police whose daily ‘Two Minute Hate’ is directed against people who waste police time by reporting offences. This is PK17 XHR– no MOT for 9 months, first reported 30.9.24
jamesha100 wrote:
I’ve no doubt theft is a problem but it’s not the issue that the majority of people cite when asked why they don’t cycle (or cycle more).
Lots of useful information in this article from 12 months ago:
https://road.cc/content/news/seven-out-ten-people-say-they-never-ride-bike-306281
To most of us who regularly visit road.cc it is obvious that most people won’t change their habits unless their is a very clear incentive.
Free hot drinks etc and even secure bike parking aren’t really going to be anywhere near enough for significant modal shift. A smartphone app won’t do it and the council will probably knock this ‘incentive’ scheme on the head in a year or so when the budget is squeezed and a cycle-hating councillor starts moaning about how cyclists are “indulged” or that it the scheme is “wasted money”. We’ve seen it all a hundred time before.
Simon E wrote:
Amen (sadly).
All the evidence (quite a lot now) shows that it is possible – but very hard – to shift people away from (some) driving. Takes a raft of joined-up measures, ultimately offering alternatives to driving which are at least as attractive (and changes to government, politics, culture and built environment to support that long term). So both negative measures (driving convenience and capacity must be reduced) as well so strong positive measures (favoring active travel, public transport etc.)
But … a happy (and hopeful? ) new year!
theyll spend the near half a
theyll spend the near half a million budget on the app (that in itself is a big red flag) and it will be spent,it will run for two years, get cited in lots of reports the council produce about sustainability, and then quietly be forgotten, having not changed modal share one fraction
how long has Love to Ride, which is essentially what WYCA are trying to set up, been running for now ? 5 or more years. has it achieved anything ? clearly not because a WYCA havent gone oh we just need to use this pre-existing setup for what we want to do, we’ll tender for our own.
Good as a multi prong
Good as a multi prong approach, will be nice to also work with cycling and running shops. As well as employers could contribute as cyclists etc take less time off work in my experience…
But why do the prongs always
But why do the prongs always seem to start with stuff that has not been shown to be the most effective in actually improving rates of cycling or the perception of safety? And indeed rarely include anything which might trouble the motorist? (“Harm minimization” I understand, but note that some of the other “sustainable” measures being funded are in fact directly to benefit the (electric) motorists! )
Cyclists taking less time off work is only valuable to firms if they have their staff actually cycling to work. For most that’s going to be a few percent or less!
A good idea, but the money
A good idea, but the money would be better spent on good cycling paths and secure bike parking. Safety and security is what puts a lot of people off cycling.
THIS, THIS, THIS and THIS.
THIS, THIS, THIS and THIS.
Having been an avid cyclist for a number of years and pretty robust in the emotional stakes, I was nearly KSI’d by a arctic/trailer combo wheich, quite frankly, shook me like no previous “near misses” I’ve had. (and I have been involved in some scary pastimes and sports). This has put me off riding a bike for nearly a year and still gives me the shakes when I recall the incident. If only we could rely on a safe infrastructure, either designed for the the pedallist, or have more consideration on the roads, then the number of active travellers will increase, along with the demand for the means to do so.
Why is this just in W
Why is this just in W Yorkshire?
It should be implemented everywhere else as well
Milton Keynes have partnered
Milton Keynes have partnered with the Love to Ride app. I suspect this is as much about generating data, that I would hope informs decision making on future investment, as it is about encouraging existing cyclists or new converts. This offers prizes rather than discounts. This also has to be a lot cheaper than developing an App from scratch.
I think having a means for local businesses to promote themselves, at low cost, directly to cyclists would be a good addition.
There are of course ‘deals’ on Strava but these aren’t local. As a walker as well as cyclist there was a local pub that was offering a free breakfast to All Trails users. Nobody’s going to travel miles and miles for a free breakfast but if you’re in Northampton it might encourage you to visit an area you might otherwise have not.
None of these publicity-heavy
None of these publicity-heavy, action-lite ‘initiatives’ will, I agree, make the slightest difference while the police are acting to thwart them with the ‘get yourself KSI’d and we’ll see what we can do’ attitude to offences against cyclists by motorists. The police are inventing new dodges to add to the default ‘just ignore them’- it was only recently we heard of the (Gloucestershire, I think) ‘the cyclist must prove that he has been ‘inconvenienced’ by a close pass before we take it seriously’ dodge. It’s the same with the Parliamentary active travel group – I sent them evidence of police hostility to cyclists and active travel in general, they will issue yet another report just like the last one, and the police will snigger ‘sod that for a lark’ and ignore it yet again.