The Italian City of Bologna has found a fun way to incentive more sustainable transportation in cities – offering free beer, ice cream or cinema tickets to citizens who opt out of their cars and into the bus, on the bike or walking. 

Urban planner Marco Amadori designed the Bella Mossa scheme in 2017, which makes use of the Better Points App.  Citizens sign up and track their travel, earning points along the way via sustainable transport choices.  Citizens can cash these points in for local rewards. Over 100 local businesses have joined the scheme, offering vouchers for citizen transport choices. Local citizens can also see how much carbon they save and compare their efforts to others, offering an element of friendly competition as well.

Last year, 3.7 million KMs of sustainable journeys were recorded in Bologna alone via the Bella Mossa scheme, and 16,000 vouchers were claimed for free stuff! Great idea Bologna, I’ll happily bike for – or bike to – my beer! Best stop at 1, maybe 2, if I have to bike back after! See video film by Amelia Martyn-Hemphill and Nicola Kelly for BBC World Hacks for more details.