Pedal power!
Try travelling by bike
Your Challenge
In recent times we’ve seen many more people choose to travel in a more sustainable way.
This challenge is about swapping small journeys you’d usually take by car with a bike ride instead.
Fitting cycling into your day might be easier than you think. You could cycle local journeys, such as:
- Your smaller shopping trips, and;
- visiting friends locally.
Or:
- Cycle your commute, or part of it, a few times a week.
This will help to reduce fossil fuel emissions and support green transport options. It will also improve your health and wellbeing.
Why you're doing this
In the UK, we choose to drive for 67% of all journeys between one and five miles.[1] Although a five-mile cycle might be a bit too far for many, a one-mile journey may be more achievable. When we start our cars from cold (‘cold start’) they are producing more emissions than when the engine is up to temperature (when the temperature dial on the dashboard reaches the middle). [2] This means that when we travel short journeys by car, we’re directly polluting the area where we live at a higher rate than if we were driving on a long journey (as our cars get up to temperature during longer drives). And we’re consuming more fuel (because the engine is not running efficiently yet) and therefore costing us more money.
How you'll make a difference
Although global emissions from transport reduced during the pandemic, they’ve risen significantly since – from 250 megatonnes to 8 gigatonnes.[3] Here in the UK, transport accounts for our biggest source of emissions: it’s responsible for 26% of the UK’s carbon footprint. [4]
Swapping from driving to cycling for shorter journeys will help us take action on climate change and bring these emissions (and our global dependence on fossil fuels) down and help to improve air quality. Plus Cycling is a great way to get some exercise and lift your mood.
Track your progress
in the My Footprint App
Track your progress and discover many more challenges in the My Footprint app. Available for iOS and Android devices.
