Everyone loves the idea of walking or cycling more. Year after year we see young people in our classrooms say that if they had the choice they would love to travel independently, either on foot or by bike. And we know that this is so often the best thing for them, encouraging them to be active throughout the week into their teenage years will set them up for a healthier life as an adult. So why don’t we encourage more active and independent travel? As parents and guardians, we often face another concern that if we allow our young people that level of freedom, we might be exposing them to other risks. Peace of mind is so important, that we have developed a pioneering new app that helps families to plan travel together providing reassurance for parents and young people alike.
In recent years, the Highways & Transportation team at West Berkshire Council have been considering the potential for developing technology solutions that support parents and young people who want to confidently pursue independent and active travel (walking and cycling). They wanted to embrace the growing possibilities of using geolocation data to give reassurance to parent/guardians and security to children for their local unaccompanied journeys. In a joint venture with award-winning transport safety consultancy, Agilysis Ltd, the have designed, tested and developed a pioneering smartphone application platform that delivers the support parents are looking for. Development of the app has involved working in partnership with specialists in education and social care as well as the technologists who can bring this app to market.