An experiment has launched in Venice to encourage residents and visitors to use environmentally friendly transport. The project is being carried out as part of the Toyota Mobility Foundation’s Sustainable Cities Challenge and is aimed at reducing congestion and emissions. Instead of introducing new restrictions, the authorities decided to encourage people to change their habits with bonuses and digital services.
One of the pilot solutions is the Andemo app. The platform combines a trip navigator with a rewards system: users receive bonuses for low-carbon routes — for example, for trips by public transport or bicycle. At present, 61% of active users have started combining different modes of transport, and 12% have received rewards for using bicycle parking.
The second finalist is the Bella Mossa service. It awards users the virtual currency BeiPunti for trips made on low-emission transport. Points can be spent in shops, exchanged for ice cream, or donated to charities.
Venice is often seen as a completely “water” city with no cars, but in fact most of its residents live on the mainland, where transport problems are quite ordinary — as in any European city. During the test period, Bella Mossa participants made almost 53,000 environmentally friendly trips and covered about 135,000 kilometres. In 61% of cases, people gave up using a car, helping prevent about 12 tonnes of CO2 emissions. The winner of the competition is planned to be announced at the end of May.
