Sustainable travel award shortlist unveiled

the "8m² for everyone!

Thirteen pioneering schemes announced by Eurostar

Thirteen pioneering sustainable travel schemes from across the UK, France and Belgium have been shortlisted for the 2013 Eurostar Ashden Award for Sustainable Travel, moving a step closer to winning a share of the £30,000 prize fund.

The Award, now in its second year, recognises innovative travel schemes that are leading the way in encouraging people to adopt more sustainable ways of travelling, helping improve quality of life whilst reducing congestion, pollution, and CO2 emissions.

The shortlist for 2013 is:

UK

• Stagecoach UK Bus – for an initiative aimed at converting non public transport users
• City of York Council – for York Park and Ride
• Sustrans Limited – for their project to extend the National Cycle Network into over 80 communities across the UK
• Metro -supporting companies in West Yorkshire to promote sustainable travel to their staff
• Transport for London – for a hybrid bus programme to reduce the environmental impact of the fleet

FRANCE:

• Cityzen Car – making car-sharing between neighbours easy, thanks to a secure social web platform
• Cycloville – an economical and ecological transport service for the town
• Rezo Pouce the first organised hitchhiking network developed in France
• Comuto – an online booking system to make car sharing more reliable

BELGIUM

• Vlaamse Vervoersmaatschappij / De Lijn – for  project ‘meettram’ and its cost-saving via the optimisation of the heating and ventilation of 40 trams
• Brusselse Raad voor het Leefmilieu (BRAL) – for the "8m² for everyone!" project which encourages people to find other users for the area that would otherwise be taken up by a parked car
• Taxistop – a carpooling service
• Blue-mobility – for Blue-bike, a national system of bike hire at more than 40 Belgian train stations

The finalists will be announced in May 2013, and up to two winners awarded a share of the £30,000 prize money at a prestigious ceremony in London in June 2013. 

Nicolas Petrovic, Chief Executive, at Eurostar said: "At last year’s Ashden Awards, we discovered some ground-breaking sustainable travel schemes and we are delighted to be able to continue the search to uncover and reward more pioneering sustainable travel projects this year.

"The shortlist for 2013 shows the breadth of innovation in sustainable travel across the UK, France and Belgium, and as we progress to select our finalists, I look forward to learning more about the impact each of these schemes is having in their market."

The Eurostar Ashden Award for Sustainable Travel is part of Eurostar’s Tread Lightly programme to reduce the business’ impact on the environment and encourage people to switch to more sustainable modes of transport.

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