en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) has announced two winners of the Sustainable Cities Challenge in Venice. Both companies have been piloting their solutions, each receiving $180,000, and will now receive an additional $500,000 to scale their solutions across Venice.
UK-based company BetterPoints developed the app Bella Mossa, which uses gamification, rewards, and over 40 behavior change techniques to guide residents toward active and sustainable modes of transport. TMF reported that between October 2025 and February 2026, the app reduced car trips by 45,000 and recorded 1,570 kilometers of cycling by non-habitual cyclists.
The other winner is Factual Consulting, in partnership with Barcelona-based mobility consultancy OpenMove. Its platform Andemo uses micro-incentives and smart trip planning to cultivate sustainable mobility habits. The app achieved 1,750 downloads during the pilot, with 87% of users opening it an average of three times per day. Factual Consulting CEO Josep Bordella stated that Andemo "aims not only to be an app but aspires to become a core tool for making mobility more inclusive and accessible, connecting people with the best mobility options their city offers." He added, "By lowering the threshold for trying new ways of getting around, we hope to help create a sustainable future for tomorrow."
Although Venice is a tourist destination famous for its canals, where the default mode of transport is water taxis rather than cars, the majority of the population lives and works on the mainland and motorized islands, where car travel remains dominant. The city is also a major transportation hub, featuring a road network, railway system, and an international airport. The challenge required mobility innovators to make sustainable travel "not just available, but truly attractive" by guiding people toward public transport, active mobility (especially cycling and walking), or shared transport. Venice has invested heavily in sustainable infrastructure, building nearly 200 kilometers of bike lanes and launching Italy's first shared service combining hybrid cars, bicycles, and electric scooters. The city has also introduced 30 new electric buses (with 44 more planned), aims to have 90 fuel-cell buses by the end of 2026, and plans to deploy over 32 hybrid water buses on its canals by 2029.
Jack Windle, Chief Sustainable Transport Officer at BetterPoints, said that with support from TMF and the City of Venice, they developed the Bella Mossa platform, offering Venetians tools such as automatic trip logging, local reward partners, and an "Adopt a Folding Bike" program. TMF hopes that as cyclists gain new tools to facilitate connections with public transport, they will find travel more convenient, thereby reducing environmental impact and potentially easing congestion on roads and highways. Roberto Di Bussolo, Head of the Sustainable Mobility Department for the City of Venice, commented, "TMF recognized the significant growth potential our city already has in the field of sustainable mobility. This challenge, advanced through the Sustainable Cities Challenge, offers the city a unique opportunity to study and pilot new solutions that can support residents, workers, students, and tourists in adopting more sustainable mobility habits over the long term." Monica Perez Lobo, TMF European Program Director, concluded, "We believe the future of urban mobility lies in inclusive, people-centered solutions that are both sustainable and scalable. Both winners have demonstrated how innovation can inspire people to adopt more sustainable ways of getting around, improving quality of life while reducing emissions. Ultimately, our goal is to build a lasting legacy of sustainable, resilient cities."
The Sustainable Cities Challenge is funded by TMF and conducted in partnership with Challenge Works and the World Resources Institute. The challenge is also taking place simultaneously in Detroit, USA, and Varanasi, India.
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