Five new areas of Bristol, including the Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, have joined a digital initiative to cut congestion for tens of thousands of workers travelling in and out of the city.
The extension of the journey-share scheme, joinmyjourney, has been funded by Bristol City Council, and the four other areas taking part will be announced later in the year.
The free-to-use scheme enables staff to find walking, cycling or commuting companions to share their journeys, either regularly or as a one off. More than 50,000 people across Bristol and South Gloucestershire already have access to it, including 30,000 who work or study at UWE, 8,000 at North Bristol NHS Trust and 8,000 at Aztec West Business Park.
The not-for-profit scheme is run by Bristol-based resource efficiency specialist ecosurety, and was launched eight months ago with support from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) and North Bristol SusCom.
Cllr Mark Bradshaw, Bristol City Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport, said:
“As the Enterprise Zone develops, attracting many more thousands to work in its growing high-tech, digital and low carbon businesses, it is crucial that people have better information and choice to travel to work more sustainably. Bristol’s business community is thriving, and offering sustainable transport plans benefits not only city residents, but can also help to attract new businesses who are passionate about making a positive contribution to tackling congestion and air pollution in Bristol. It’s a real win-win.”
joinmyjourney, which is map-based, is available for Apple, Android and Windows devices. Benefits of the scheme include reduced numbers of cars attempting to park at business sites, lower emissions and saving money by cutting commuting costs.
James Piper, commercial director at ecosurety, said:
“ecosurety wholeheartedly supports sustainability. Our decision to run with this CSR project and invest significant amounts of time, money and resources underlines our commitment to our local business environment and community, as well as to our core value of striving to continuously eradicate all forms of unnecessary waste.”
