Bologna: App incentivices sustainable travel for citizens
The Challenge
SRM, Bologna’s public transport authority, wanted to try a new approach to improve congestion and reduce CO2 emissions in the city. Bologna had tried to reduce CO2 emissions before, by banning the use of polluting vehicles during the day, however that approach had been unpopular. They wanted to see if incentives would be more effective than penalties.
The Solution
Powered by the BetterPoints platform, Bella Mossa, meaning “good job” in English, was designed to encourage fewer single-occupancy car journeys in the city of Bologna through rewards and gamification for travelling by sustainable modes. The BetterPoints system comprises a user facing smartphone app, a digital management platform and client-facing dashboards.
The key aspects of the Bella Mossa scheme were as follows:
- Walking and cycling was tracked and rewarded through a dedicated smartphone app;
- Points were earned for redeeming at local and high-street shops;
- Points were redeemed in-store by scanning a barcode in the phone;
- Strong client partnership was developed with shops and businesses to promote the programme and accept reward points in-store; and,
- Strong client activity in promoting the programme locally.
In 2018, participants could form teams outside the workplace to compete against friends and family, join new monthly challenges, and take part in a special challenge for the summer holiday. SRM also introduced a Schools Challenge in 2018, which pitted local schools against each other to increase engagement.
Making an impact
- 1.8 million active or sustainable journeys were tracked.
- 1.4 million journeys walked or cycled.
- 500,000 journeys on public transport.
- More than 1,400 tonnes of CO2 avoided (estimated if journeys replaced a car).
- Out of the participants, 78% walked more, 58% cycled more and 63% used cars less.
Lessons learnt
- The programme in 2017 generated a huge amount of interest and earned SRM the CIVITAS Bold Measure Award that year.
- Bella Mossa 2017 attracted 15,000 active users. The numbers were down to 10,000 in 2018 though, surprisingly, that didn’t affect engagement; in fact, many more active journeys (walking and cycling) were made in 2018 than in 2017.
- 38% of participants from 2017 took part again in 2018: it’s possible they had been so motivated in year one that they increased their activity in year two.
- SRM partnered with more than 100 local, national and global brands to provide a wide range of reward vouchers.
- Extra gamification and workplace challenges made a big difference in year two: more people stayed active for longer in 2018 than in 2017.
- The client’s enthusiasm and effort were crucial to the programme’s success, in using their networks and leverage to promote it widely, negotiate with local businesses and respond to user feedback.
- Put in the effort and you’ll see the benefit. SRM put a lot of time and effort into planning Bella Mossa, absorbing feedback and delivering the programme. Bella Mossa’s success was, in large part, down to their enthusiasm and determination to make it work.