This one could've come straight out of some government handbook to reduce our big fat bellies. But they've been pipped to the post by Transport for London and Recyclebank in their efforts to get us walking by promising financial incentives, and, as an added bonus, keeping us all nice and healthy.
So, here's how it works: with an app called re:route, your phone gets a route and then the GPS follows you on that route to make sure you've done it by foot. If you do, you get rewards: Vouchers from the likes of Champneys (very posh!), Marks and Spencer, Haven Holidays and Cineworld to name but a few. The marketeers reckon you could earn up to £250 worth of goodies over the course of the year if you use re:route properly.
On the face of it, re:route sounds like a nice, kind-hearted initiative to make sure we're healthy. And don't forget, more walking = less spending money on train fares; another plus.
However, this summer, TfL is pretty much desperate to keep as many Londoners off the tubes as possible because of a certain event that's taking over the city.
"Travel in London will be difficult during the Olympics, and with this app we could potentially reward people for avoiding hot spots," Rob Crumbie, marketing director for Recyclebank, told Pocket-lint. "We are planning on motivating people in different ways."
There is another nifty bonus here in that by working walking routes out, it means you can actually get routes for some journeys that are quicker to make by foot than commandeering a multitude of busses and trains.
Anyway, the re:route app is coming very soon - predictably, to iOS first. But fear not - Android and others will get a look in in the not so distant future.
