A new Car-Free Scheme is about to be launched on the Island hoping to make it a ‘greener’ place to visit.
Spearheading the project is co-founder of the Big Green Island Project Community Interest Company, Lois Prior.
Regular readers will recognise Lois from her many years of work in helping to ‘green up’ the Island’s tourism industry.
Her enthusiasm and motivation has inspired many people to follow suit, which can only be a good thing for the Island and the planet.
This latest idea was bourne out of research she carried out during the Isle of Wight Zoo’s green week.
Her task was to learn more about holiday maker’s travel habits whilst on the Island.
Lois tells us that a map of the Isle of Wight was set up onto which which visitors placed stickers on places they had visited, or were planning to visit. These stickers were colour coded with red stickers representing cars, blue for buses, yellow for trains and green for walking or cycling.
She went on to say that “By the end of the week the map was awash with red stickers, even where public transport links were good. People were feeling guilty about putting so many red stickers onto the map, especially in front of their children. When asked why they were using their car and not public transport, the answers were usually to do with convenience, cost and lack of information”.
How will it work?
The new Car-Free Scheme aims to break down the barriers some people have to using public transport.
It’s hoped that the many attractions and accommodation providers across the Island will get involved by providing some a discount or incentive for holiday-makers to travel to them by bus or train.
“What surprised me is that many attractions and some accommodation providers are already offering discounts as part of their green policy, but many failed to promote these discounts effectively, if at all. This scheme will promote any business that can offer an incentive to public transport users” said Lois “as well as offering information about island buses, trains, integrated tickets and places to visit without the car. The scheme has been kept as simple as possible. There are no vouchers or special passes. All you need to obtain your discount is your train / bus ticket or your Rover ticket. With a weekly bus Rover ticket costing just £40 for a whole family, I am sure that this scheme will also make economic sense as well.”
Island businesses already signing up
Already signed up to the scheme are Vintage Vacations and Goodleaf Tree Climbing.
Both companies are offering discounts for public transport users.
If you are interested in joining the scheme, please email lois (at) car-free-scheme.org or call 01983 220220 (leaving a message).
Visit the Car Free Scheme Website to learn more
