Earn Your Travel Back

Since 2009, about 2500 Young people who have had their Zip Oyster cards suspended due to breaches of the Transport for London behaviour code have been able to get their cards reactivated by volunteering on a series of practical conservation projects run by BTCV in partnership with the London Wildlife Trust and v.

Through the Earn Your Travel Back scheme young people are making a real difference to the environment where they live and are helping turn the fortunes of many green spaces in their communities. Over 70 sites have been worked on across London since the beginning of the programme. Most Young People who have participated in the scheme are thinking positively about volunteering again in the future.

Beyond helping to reduce Anti-Social behaviour on busses and making young people more aware of the value of their free travel, Earn Your Travel Back aims to inspire and develop young people, allowing them to become involved in exciting projects that not only benefit wildlife, but also the individuals themselves. They learn a whole host of practical skills through activities such as building bird boxes, planting hedgerows and constructing footpaths. They also gain experience in areas that will make them more attractive to education institutions and the employment sector. They learn how to successfully work in a team and develop their problem solving skills.

Many of the young people who have been involved in the scheme, which started in August 2009, have been surprised by what they gained from the experience. “It is not at all like I expected – it’s good to know that what we’ve achieved today will be used by local people for years to come” said one young volunteer.

“The best bit was when we found the hedgehog – it made me realise that what we were doing was really important for all the wildlife” added another.

Parents have also shown their support for the scheme. A mother of one teenage volunteer said: “I would like to thank you for the Earn Your Travel Back project that my son attended. I felt it was a harsh lesson for him (he rubbed his face out on his Oyster card) but on hindsight it has done him no harm at all and has shown him another side of life. It has also shown him how to work with many different types of people and what it means to achieve a goal. Thank you very much”

For more information about the scheme visit this Earn Your Travel Back website.