BetterPoints Oxfordshire is all about inspiring healthier lifestyle behaviours. Can you help to create a cleaner, greener county by getting around in ways that benefit your health, the environment and your community, as well as helping the local economy too? Please see our Frequently Asked Questions below and get in touch if the answer you're looking for isn't there.
What is BetterPoints Oxfordshire?
BetterPoints Oxfordshire is a free rewards programme for residents and employees in Oxfordshire. It is designed to help you get active, travel in greener ways, and support local traders and charities. It rewards walking, wheeling, running, cycling and public transport, as well as activities that encourage physical activity, healthy eating and quitting smoking.
Why should I take part?
BetterPoints is an award-winning app that encourages people to walk, wheel, run, cycle and take public transport more, as well as other activities to improve your health and wellbeing. Taking part will allow you to earn rewards for travelling in greener and healthier ways. You can support local traders and charities with the BetterPoints you earn. The secure and anonymised data your participation provides will also help Oxfordshire County Council to improve provision for active and sustainable transport, helping to make Oxfordshire a cleaner, greener, more liveable county for everyone.
How can I get involved?
Check out the Join BetterPoints Oxfordshire for all the details.
How can I earn points or win a prize?
You can earn points and win lots of fantastic prizes for travelling actively and sustainably. Check out all the rewards here.
What is the difference between BetterTickets and BetterPoints?
BetterPoints can be earned by tracking eligible activities - over time they add up. Your points balance appears in the menu on the left of the app. Once you’ve collected enough points you can redeem them against vouchers in the catalogue on the app or donate them to charity. Every 1,000 BetterPoints are worth £1.
BetterTickets are prize draw entries earned for doing a specific activity. The tickets you earn automatically enter you into relevant prize draws. The more tickets you earn, the more chance you have of winning. Prizes can include BetterPoints and specific things such as electric bikes and European city breaks.
What can I spend my points on?
Tap Rewards 🎁 to browse charities and the rewards catalogue, which includes vouchers from local, independent businesses as well as high street brands.
Can I take part if I use a wheelchair, and if so, how do I record my journeys?
Yes! All kinds of wheelchairs can be recorded as 'wheeling' in our app. Due to the motion sensors inbuilt in your device, and our algorithms in the app, it may assume you are cycling, rather than wheeling. In your timeline, after completing your journey, you will be able to amend this to wheeling and your journey will be updated. You will be awarded the same amount of points/tickets as walking, running or cycling journeys.
How has BetterPoints Oxfordshire been funded?
BetterPoints Oxfordshire is funded by Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) using Capability and Ambition Fund from Active Travel England.
Does BetterPoints Oxfordshire cost the council tax payer?
The programme is paid for out of central government funds specifically designated for behaviour change programmes of this kind, so it isn’t funded by your Council Tax.
Is the programme an effective use of public funds?
Typically, BetterPoints programmes deliver carbon savings worth more than the contract value according to BEIS’ carbon valuations and added value through increased physical activity, which saves the Council and local NHS money. The Return on Investment can be as high a £4 for every £1 spent on a BetterPoints programme.
Do I have to keep the app running all the time?
No. You can turn GPS recording on and off at the beginning and end of each trip if you prefer. We recommend leaving it on to ensure you receive rewards for all your car-free journeys.
How much battery does the app use?
BetterPoints have done a lot of work on battery optimisation. On most handsets, the app uses a modest amount of battery power and compares favourably with other apps using the same functions on your device.
Does the app record individual user’s movements, and what data about individual users will BetterPoints and Oxfordshire County Council be able to obtain?
Whether and how individual users share data is completely up to the individual user. Users need to record trips to earn BetterPoints and prize draw entries but if users don’t want the app to record all of their movements, they can simply turn tracking on and off at the beginning and end of trips. Any GPS data users do choose to share will only be used in anonymised and aggregated form to improve sustainable transport options in their area, and to help BetterPoints refine and improve their platform.
No personally identifiable data is shared with anyone, including OCC. If individual users do choose to share their anonymised data, they will be helping to make Oxfordshire a better place to walk, wheel and cycle in the future.
Why are you rewarding people for walking and cycling?
Walking, wheeling and cycling builds physical activity into peoples’ everyday lives. This can improve people’s physical and mental health while saving the NHS money by reducing the strain on its services. What’s more, wheeling and cycling can grant independence to some people and enable them to travel to places that otherwise might be inaccessible. Encouraging people to leave the car at home also reduces congestion and pollution, making the environment better for everyone.
Is the programme punishing people who legitimately need their car to get around?
We know that lots of people need to use their cars – the BetterPoints programme is all about helping them to use other modes of transport when they can. People who drive stand to benefit because the programme will remove cars from the road – meaning that there’s less traffic for those who need to use their cars.
Is the programme just rewarding people for doing what they are doing already?
People who walk, wheel, run, cycle and use public transport are travelling in ways that minimise impacts on their community and the environment. The programme is a way to recognise their positive contribution, as well as to try and encourage other people out of their cars.
Why do people living in certain areas get more points for doing the same thing?
Some areas receive boosted BetterPoints because they will benefit most from increased physical activity and the rewards on offer. This targeting ensures the rewards budget is used to deliver maximum value for money for the public purse.
Do you have any more questions?
Then please refer to the general BetterPoints FAQs here. If you have any other questions that are not covered on either of these pages, please contact customercare@betterpoints.uk.
Want to get started?
Download our free app via the buttons or QR code below to sign up and start earning rewards today.
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