All this week I have been surrounded by a virtuous and, I must confess, rather smug glow thanks to a new discovery: Brighton & Hove Council’s journey planner website, Journey On.

Following on neatly from Arcadia’s post below, this excellent innovative website allows you to count the carbon, the calories and the cost of your daily journeys to and from work, to the shops, down to the beach, wherever you want within Brighton & Hove.

I have touched before on my walk to work – in the context of the deodorant debates (I walk a fairly long way very quickly with the inevitable issues on arrival!) – so was delighted to discover thanks to the council’s calculator that each day I walk:

over 4 miles

burning nearly 400 calories (or more as it says the journey takes 40mins and I do it in 30!)

saving 1.4kg in carbon emissions and £1.56 in petrol if I were to drive

or 0.5kg in carbon emissions and £1.70 if I were taking the bus

I think this website is a brilliant idea - not least because it lets me boast to all my friends how fit I am and how I’m saving the planet every day!

Gill Mitchell, the city council’s environment spokeswoman, said:

“Every day in Brighton & Hove 27,000 car journeys of less than three miles are made. We want to get people out of their cars and walking, cycling or taking public transport instead.

“Everyone wants to save money and everyone would like to be healthier. Our transport campaign, plus this new website, will help make people aware of how walking, cycling or taking the bus can help achieve this.”

So if you’re not in Brighton & Hove and you want to know how many calories and how much carbon you’re burning on your way to work, get on to your local council and tell them to build you a Journey On website now!

Happy Easter!

Katie

Update: Since I wrote this post, I’ve discovered London is doing something similar with their website ‘Walk It’ – check it out Londoners!