Bike riders in Vienna will be rewarded with concert tickets for their efforts in reducing CO2 emissions in the Austrian capital.
In a brilliant concept that could easily be applied in Australian cities, the Viennese can earn culture tokens from every bike trip they take.
They can use an app from the city council that records bike trip kilometres on their phone, logging a token for every 20 kg of CO2 saved.
Each token gets you a free ticket to one of the city’s outstanding cultural attractions: Wien Museum, the Kunsthalle, the Volkstheater and the Konzerthaus.
The only CO2 produced is what comes out of the horn during the Mozart concerto!
The initiative is currently a six month trial with a hundred participants, though the city is already looking at introducing more venues when the trial is made permanent.
The scheme applies not just to bikes, but also to public transport or travel on foot.
The app works by tracking travel. The software recognizes the type of transportation and converts the corresponding CO2 savings compared to driving a car.
The more pollutants you save by not using your car, the faster a token is generated.
The 20 kg of CO2 you save on your bike to get a token is equivalent to about two weeks of commuting to work in the city.
A graphic indicator on your phone shows progress and notifies you when you have reached the 20 kg target.
Up to five tokens can be collected, at which point at least one must be redeemed.
The app uses blockchain technology to guarantee the highest level of data protection.