- The innovative App incentivizes citizens and visitors to bologna to walk, cycle or use public transport instead of cars to get around in the city.
- The points system allows exchange for things like beer, ice cream or cinema tickets.
- The idea highlight s how the internet of things and smart technology can drive change in transport use in the built environment.
In the Italian city of Bologna, people are rewarded for cycling, walking and taking public transport. Bella Mossa (Italian for “good job”) is the brainchild of urban planner Marco Amadori. The anti-pollution scheme aims to reduce car journeys and boost “green” travel with incentives like beer, ice cream or cinema tickets for participants who complete eco-friendly walks and rides.
Inhabitants of Bologna can download an app which uses GPS tracking to record their journeys. Each walk or trip by bike or bus earns points, which can be built up and exchanged for goods and services at local businesses that have signed up to the scheme.
“The system of point collection is based not on the distance you travel but on a single trip, because it’s important that even for short trips of 1km you do it in a sustainable way,” says Marco Amadori.
Bella Mossa has proved popular and there is talk of extending the initiative’s four-month operating period. The app allows a maximum of four trips to be logged each day, to encourage people to use the scheme over time and help make travelling around the city more sustainable.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
