South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) is celebrating after winning a National TravelWise Award for its Carbon Quids campaign during European Mobility Week.
SYPTE ran the innovative campaign as part of its strategy to encourage people to make better travel choices.
The Carbon Quids campaign, which took place in September, rewarded people who walked, cycled, shared a car or used public transport. People who did this earned Carbon Quids which they could then exchange for rewards at Carbon Cash-Ins held in Sheffield, Doncaster, Barnsley and Rotherham.
Hundreds of people across South Yorkshire took part in the campaign, more than 1,250 reward bags were exchanged for Carbon Quids and the campaign web site attracted more than 40,000 hits.
The success of the campaign was recognised when it was judged the Best Travel Awareness Event award in the National TravelWise Awards. The award was presented at the National TravelWise Association’s annual conference in Belfast.
It was accepted on behalf of SYPTE by Jackie Karachi, Managing Director of the Sheffield-based creative agency Counter Context, which devised and managed the campaign for SYPTE.
Brian Moreland, Head of TravelWise Northern Ireland and one of the judges for the awards, said: “The judges said this new, exciting approach to encourage change in travel habits was very innovative and justified the award being given to the team at SYPTE.”
Roy Wicks, Director General of SYPTE, said: “We were delighted to win this award which recognised the innovative nature and success of the Carbon Quids campaign. Our aim is to encourage people to make better travel choices by leaving their cars at home and using public transport. This campaign was a great success and we are planning to use similar rewards schemes in future campaigns.”