One of the reasons people like Pokemon Go is it gets the couch potatoes off the sofa. It was about getting some exercise. Move over Pokemon Go; there’s a new app in town.
My open road (MOR) works the same way most of the game apps work, you start at a level and go to the next level, and you get credits. The difference with this game is you are helping yourself get in shape, saving money, and being socially responsible.
My open road says they are the first-ever social media game that automatically measures CO2 savings based on your activity. Don’t try to cheat; their patent-pending technology can detect whether you’re driving, carpooling, commuting, walking, cycling, even skateboarding. You then get a “Social Responsibility Score (or SRS for short).
The ways to be awarded points the fastest are to travel without emissions; skateboarding, cycling, walking/running all get 1,000 points. Driving an electric car gets you 900 points while driving a regular car produces only 500 points.
The app is geared to University students. If you skateboard to class, stop and get a meal, and a free 24 oz soda just for being socially responsible. You can compete with your friends to see who exercises the most, but also who uses the least amount of emissions to get back and forth.
The start-up has been downloaded 6,500 times, thirty percent of them are using it, and fifteen percent are using the app to get discounts from the retailers and restaurants that are in the app.
The information MOR gathers is sent to the Air Quality Management District (AQMD) to observe the amount of energy efficiency being saved.
Bike to school, go to college for free?
Right now students are getting sodas and fish tacos for free, but why stop there?
The one thing the Universities need to do is sell these ZEV emission reductions to the car companies. Tesla Motors was paid $130 million last year by car companies for ZEV credits.
Wouldn’t it be great if the Universities could substantiate their claims of ZEV credits and apply for ZEV credits from the alternative means of transportation that students are using? Wouldn’t you love to see kids going to school from ZEV credit scholarships? What if your college told you if you didn’t buy your teenager a car they would reduce college admission fees?
Wouldn’t it be the best real world education these young kids could ever get?
