Love to Ride

Results
Once known as Challenge for Change, the Love to Ride program was introduced in the UK by its creator Thomas Stokell to: (1) encourage more people to take up cycling and (2) encourage people who were already cycling to cycle more often. The program studied how behavior change theories could be applied to cycling and collected information about participants’ barriers, benefits, and stages of change on an ongoing basis via surveys. A web platform and GPS app made participation easy and fun, providing participants with information on how to get started and organizing Workplace Cycle Challenges. Challenges lasted for three weeks and were designed to get more people to cycle to work on a regular basis. Businesses registered for the challenges were divided by size so they would only compete against similarly-sized companies and employees interested in participating would sign up as part of their workplace. Love to Ride’s website, app, and e-communications tailored messaging to participants based on their specific motivators and barriers and provided individuals with information on rewards, incentives, and prizes that would most appeal to them. Participants were encouraged to log their trips online, and in turn, would receive personalized messages with interesting facts, reminders, ideal cycling routes, safety information, bicycle repair and maintenance tips, and discounts being offered at local shops. Cycling frequency, journey type, and other key data were used to evaluate the success of the challenges rather than distance covered, and short, high-response surveys provided insight into program effectiveness and uptake. In 2013, Love to Ride had 113,000 participants, 34,400 of whom were originally non-cyclists. After three months, 54% of self-identified non-cyclists had cycled at least once a month and 35% cycled to work at least once a week.

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McKenzie-Mohr & Associates

Expertise in Community-Based Social Marketing