Tokenising Active Travel
Active travel infrastructure has high capital costs but no way to generate revenue. And yet, combined with other shared services, it enables users to own fewer cars and reduce their transport costs. Tokenising active travel allows its capital cost to be included in the operational costs of pay-per-use services that depend on it.
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For example, a car commuter who converts to cycling becomes compatible to carshare with someone who needs a car on workdays. For the commuter to cycle, a new cycle path needs to be built. Its capital cost is represented by specific blockchain tokens, which are bought up-front by stakeholders. Each payment made for carshare will include buying back a small number of these tokens. This is a way to recycle funding for active travel, making it a long-term investment, rather than a one-time expense.

Revenue from carshare is generated slowly, whereas a cycle path needs capital up-front. Capital for the cycle path is raised by selling the tokens before any carshare is provided. This requires a guarantee that the carshare vehicles will be used and the tokens bought back. 

Transport Groups enable users and providers to establish their compatible supply and demand by committing to a smart contract, held on a decentralised blockchain. This is a form of crowdfunding that provides the guarantee required for initial purchase of the tokens. It gives transport users confidence that 'it will be there when I need it', and it gives providers confidence that the cost of provision will be covered from day one. The smart contract manages a dynamic pay-per-use rate, which covers costs and buys back the cycle path tokens from initial holders. Having enabled a modal shift from private cars to cycling, the tokens can then be sold as voluntary carbon credits, possibly to private car owners who want to offset their emissions.​

As with conventional crowdfunding, the role of Transport Groups is to shift financial risk from providers to users. They are the only ones who know what transport they need and who will save money by owning fewer cars. Small standalone Transport Groups, such as combining one e-bike and one carshare, can be allowed to succeed or fail on their own, cf crowdfunding. The car-free housing example puts users in a situation where they are almost forced to form Transport Groups. However, in the case described here, some of the risk will remain with token buying stakeholders, such as the local authority. The objective is to transfer the whole cost to users, but it is not realistic to form all the Transport Groups required to guarantee this before the cycle path is built.

Compatibility of carshare users makes small Transport Groups likely, with 2 or 3 drivers. This is vulnerable to large changes in the pay-per-use rate as users come and go. By linking many Transport Groups together, fluctuations in the rate can be smoothed out.

Fortunately, the tokens required by this solution would not be viewed as security tokens by the Financial Conduct Authority. 

The Eynsham community path will serve people travelling between Eynsham and Oxford, a 20 -30 minute e-bike ride. The 2300 households in Eynsham currently spend around £14 million every year on private cars, which are parked 95% of the time. The suggested contribution to the community path could be £5 million, paid back over 10 - 15 years.
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