Thinking of joining the challenge or have some questions?
Read on to find out more...
What is Changing Steps Cardiff?
Changing Steps is a free to join rewards programme for staff and students at Cardiff University, designed to help you get around more sustainably. It rewards active and sustainable travel for commuting and leisure trips to and from campus, and encourages regular walking, running, wheeling and cycling activity for health and wellbeing.
How has Changing Steps Cardiff been funded?
Changing Steps has been funded by Cardiff University.
Why should I take part?
BetterPoints is an award-winning app that encourages people to walk, run, wheel, cycle, or take the bus or train more, for commuting purposes or leisure. Taking part will allow you to earn rewards for travelling in active and environmentally friendly ways. You can spend your BetterPoints on campus, with national retailers or donate them to charity, including to support the University's biodiversity work. The secure and anonymised data your participation provides will also help Cardiff University to improve provision for active and sustainable transport, helping to make the University a better, safer and healthier campus for all to travel around. To find out more about what we do with your information please see our Privacy Policy.
How can I get involved?
Check out the Sign up to Changing Steps page, or in a nutshell:
- Download the free BetterPoints app from the App Store or Google Play.
- Register on the app. You must use your @cardiff.ac.uk email address to be eligible.
- Switch "Tracking is on" in the top right to record your activities.
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 are a financially backed currency that you can earn by tracking your activities - over time these add up. Your points balance can be viewed at the top of the homepage of your app. Once you've collected enough points you can redeem them for high street vouchers or donate to your favourite charity or community group (1,000 BetterPoints is equivalent to £1).
BetterTickets are prize draw entries earned for doing a specific activity. Prizes can include pots of BetterPoints or specific things e.g. event tickets, a bike service.
What can I spend my points on?
You can spend them on campus or with local or national retailers listed on the app. Alternatively, you can donate your points to charity, including in support of the University's biodiversity work. 100% of all monies donated will be allocated to projects by the Ecosystem Resilience and Biodiversity Action Plan (ERBAP) Steering Committee, to help progress their plan for building ecosystem resilience and biodiversity across campus.
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 tracked as 'wheeling' in our app. You download the app as per the instructions above. If you select automatic tracking, the app will automatically track your journey. 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.
I want to travel sustainably but I don't feel safe. Can the University help?
Cardiff University offer safety for students via the Safezone App which can be downloaded from safezoneapp.com. The app allows students to communicate with security officials at Cardiff University where students can send a location based alert if ever in need of an emergency response. If you aren't in a position where you're able to call, the app also allows students to communicate with security officers via text message.
Is my data being shared?
The sharing of any information is optional; data processing is operated by BetterPoints and is not controlled by Cardiff University. BetterPoints only share anonymised, aggregated data with the University and we never share your data with anyone else, except for prize winners. Contact information including name and email address may be shared with Cardiff University and partners of Changing Steps Cardiff in order to fulfil prizes.
Is the app and website accessible?
BetterPoints’ websites and app pages are all designed to offer a clear and easy to navigate user experience. The app and websites are developed in a way that maximizes integration with accessibility tools.
Do you have any more questions?
If you have any questions or encounter any issues whilst using the app, tap the ☰ menu button in the top left-hand corner and then ‘Help’ to send us a message. Alternatively, you can send us an email at: customercare@betterpoints.uk.
