Warwickshire residents came together at the end of March to remove over 1,600 miles worth of vehicle emissions during Love to Ride’s Ride, Walk, Wheel Week.
Ride, Walk, Wheel Week is a Warwickshire-exclusive campaign which aims to encourage people across the County to travel actively more often. People were asked to pledge to ride, walk or wheel at least one journey for transport that they would otherwise usually have made by car.
By logging their trips using the Love to Ride app, participants earned entries into prize draws. The more transport trips they logged, the more entries into the prize draws they received. People were able to participate regardless of whether they owned a car or not.
By promoting active travel, Ride, Walk, Wheel Week aimed to take steps towards achieving long-term behaviour change and modal shift by helping to establish and embed new social norms around riding, walking, and wheeling; increase the perceived desirability of active travel; and make people more likely to continue with their active habits after the campaign.
Over the course of the week, 364 active travellers across the county made 286 transport trips (105 of these walking) and logged an impressive 1611 miles with the Love to Ride mobile app.
Everyone who took place in the week-long event was surveyed after the event with around 40% of respondents saying that Ride, Walk, Wheel Week had increased the amount of active travel that they did for transport and 92% of respondents stated that they would take part in the event next year.
Residents who completed the event and survey left the following comments:
“You are doing a great job and I think Love to Ride brings the cycling community together well! :)”
“Great programme. Keep up the good work!”
Cllr Jan Matecki, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Transport and Planning, said: “Ride, Walk, Wheel Week is a fantastic opportunity for our residents to make the leap, leave the car at home and choose active travel for their shorter journeys. It was fantastic to see so many residents downloading the Love to Ride App and making their pledges for the week.
“We hope that our considerable ongoing investments in active travel infrastructure across Warwickshire will create opportunities for more of our residents to reap the environmental and health benefits of this form of travel all year round.”
For residents who missed out on Ride, Walk, Wheel Week, the next big Love to Ride Event – Bike Month 2024 – is just around the corner, beginning on Wednesday 1 May. To start your active travel adventures today, visit: https://www.lovetoride.net/warwickshire
Find out more about the Bike Month Challenge: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/news/article/5156/time-to-get-those-bikes-out-of-storage-for-bike-month-2024
Find out more about Active Travel in Warwickshire: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/activetravel