Points can mean prizes for more active travel 

Making healthy travel choices can be rewarding in more ways than one under a new scheme.

As well as health benefits, walking, cycling, wheeling and taking public transport can also be a way of earning prizes.

The HItravel BetterPoints app, launched on Tuesday 22nd April rewards those involved in active travel in Highland, Argyll and Bute, Moray, Orkney and the Western Isles.

To mark the launch, all HItravel BetterPoints members can earn a share of £600 of prizes before the end of May, which is National Walking Month.

Every journey by walking, wheeling, cycling or running each week is an entry into the prize draw for a share of £100 between April 22 – June 1.

HItravel BetterPoints is free to join for everyone who lives, works or studies in Highland, Argyll and Bute, Moray, Orkney and the Western Isles.

To join, download the free BetterPoints app and record activities on foot, bike and wheelchair as well as public transport.

These healthy choices earn BetterPoints, which can support the local community and economy through partnerships with businesses and charities across the Highlands and Islands.

Members can spend the BetterPoints they earn at local businesses, donate them to charity, or redeem them for many household-name brands.

Local businesses can register to allow users can spend BetterPoints here.

Robert Wilson, who lives in Lossiemouth and works in Inverness, has been using the BetterPoints app for over a year and a half now. He likes that his bus commute is automatically tracked and points awarded, along with his short walks to and from his house and office to the bus stop. The BetterPoints app counts whether he has met the national weekly physical activity goal of 150 minutes, highlighting how walking, wheeling and cycling for everyday journeys is an effective way to fit exercise into busy daily routines.

Robert is encouraging more people to download the BetterPoints app, especially when there will be special prizes to win during National Walking Month in May. He said: “I like how the BetterPoints app tracks my travel and rewards me with a free coffee by automatically giving me points for taking the bus to work. It’s free to use, helps to highlight how active I have been throughout the day and provides useful rewards.”

Sheena Corcoran, smart travel choices promotion and marketing officer with HITRANS, who is funding the HItravel BetterPoints app said: “Spring is the perfect time to walk and cycle more for short local journeys to school, to work, to the shops and to the train station or bus stop if using public transport.

“To encourage more people to walk, cycle or use public transport, HITRANS is supporting the HItravel BetterPoints app to reward people for taking the train into town, cycling to work, catching the bus with friends and their walk in the park. Ferry travel and car sharing are also counted in the rewards programme.”

Find out more at HItravel.BetterPoints.uk