Town offers commuters 600 euros a year to bike to work

(ANSA) - Massarosa, November 13 - Fifty people who ride their bikes to work instead of driving will be able to earn up to 600 euros during a year-long pilot project soon to be inaugurated in the Tuscan town of Massarosa, about 30 minutes north of Pisa.
    The 30,000-euro 'Bike to Work' project is funded with proceeds from the town's traffic tickets, earmarked by law for improving road safety.
    Cyclists in the programme will earn 25 cents per kilometer ridden to and from their workplaces, tracked by a special smartphone app, up to a monthly cap of 50 euros.
    One of the programme's main supporters is the Italian Federation for Friends of the Bicycle (FIAB).
    "It's rare to find an administration capable of translating political will into a concrete act as quickly as they've done here in Massarosa," said FIAB President Giulietta Paglianti.
    "We hope that this will become a pilot town and an example for others".