If you’ve ever felt that your green credentials have gone unrewarded, it might be worth considering a move to the Italian city of Bologna.
For six months a year, an initiative called Bella Mossa (“Good Job”) operates within the city, which rewards users of sustainable forms of transport with free beer, ice cream or film tickets.
The programme, which runs from April to September, aims to reduce pollution and offers residents and visitors an incentive to walk, cycle or take public transport, rather than travel by car.
Participants simply download the Better Points app on their phone, where they can log up to four journeys per day.
According to the BBC, over 100 businesses in Bologna have signed up to the scheme to offer benefits for points accrued.
Before heading off to your local cycle track, travellers should be aware that points are awarded for the number of trips taken, rather than the distance covered. Whether you travel one kilometre or 10, the points will remain the same.
To avoid any abuse of the system, a GPS tracker makes sure people are being honest about the journeys they log and the method of transport used. The app also tells users how much CO2 was saved on each journey.
Urban planner Marco Amdori devised the scheme in 2017; it’s funded by the EU and Bologna’s local government.
In the six months Bella Mossa was operational last year, it recorded 3.7 million kilometres of sustainable journeys in the city.
This isn’t the first time Bologna has led the way when it comes ethical living.
In 2008, the Festival of Responsible Travel was established in the city and has continued to run annually ever since.
The festival aims to involve tourists and the local community in developing socially responsible practices that develop the environment in a sustainable way. The programme also “encourages participants to reflect on their approach to tourism.”
