Colorado city Westminster has partnered with Commutrics to develop a platform that gamifies city employee commuting options. The aim is to provide incentives to city employees to choose healthier and more sustainable travel options in their daily commute.

Gamifying the experience for employees increased buy-in, making the experience more fun and offering awards for healthier options selected.

After the success of the initial pilot of the Transportation Demand Management system, the city developed an extended six-month programme, which then evolved into a year-long implementation for 2024.

The programme aims at increasing city employee health and making the city greener. It is supported by the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance.

Westminster’s TDM platform has achieved a 50.7% reduction in single-occupant vehicle trips, equivalent to 2,924 fewer trips. This resulted in a 39.6% reduction in carbon emissions, equalling a 8,277 kg saving in carbon dioxide, and a 24% reduction in vehicle miles travelled, equalling 11,074 miles saved.

By choosing alternative, healthier commuting options, city employees saw a 22% increase in activity level by calories burned.

Through the platform, employees have the ability to earn up to $45 per month in Commute Benefits. Winning 1,000 points yields $10 in rewards per month. The programme also offers monthly prizes for: most miles biked; most miles walked; most transit trips; most green trips; most trips to the office.

Commutrics developed a programme to provide employees with options for their commute, connect with other employees for carpooling, report and log their commutes, and receive rewards for their commuting behaviour.

This included: designing and implementing a custom TDM programme to promote alternative transportation mode choices; outreach to employees on programme details and collecting employee commuting data through the Commutrics platform and mobile app.

The platform also monitors programme implementation to promote employee engagement, analyses commuting data and measuring programme outcomes, and provides for refining the programme based on data and feedback collected.