Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice (UPJŠ) supports alternative forms of transport. Every year, it motivates more than 1,800 employees to participate in the Bike to Work competition, the largest campaign supporting the development of sustainable transport in Slovakia. Employees who took part in the 11th edition of the competition achieved admirable results.
Nearly 15,000 contestants took part in the 11th edition of the campaign to promote sustainable modes of transport, completing some 300,000 rides during June. Thanks to this effort and the will to make a difference, we saved almost 430,000 kg of CO2 in Slovakia in the month of June. Slovaks cycled 1,716,572 km, travelled a total of 638,332 km by public transport and walked 88,611 km.
A total of 19 teams and 63 individuals from the Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice took part in the 2024 Bike to Work challenge. In total, the UPJŠ employees travelled almost 4,000 kilometres by alternative transport. UPJŠ thus saved approximately 900 kg of CO2 in the month of June. The participants made 552 trips on their bicycles and covered approximately 2,300 km. They took public transport a total of 221 times and travelled more than 1,200 km together. On foot, the competitors covered a total of more than 500 km on 283 routes. UPJŠ ranked 56th in the national ranking in the bicycle category, 22nd in the public transport category and 20th in the walking category. Out of 14 registered universities, we ranked 2nd in the number of completed rides in the bicycle and public transport categories and 4th in the walking category.
The final evaluation of the competition within UPJŠ and the awarding of prizes to the teams from UPJŠ with the best results took place on 24 July 2024 at the Rector’s Office at Šrobárová 2 in Košice. The Quaestor of UPJŠ, Ivan Pezlar, appreciated the initiative of the employees and presented them with prizes. “By participating in the nationwide initiative, the employees supported not only their health but also the environment by limiting driving in private cars and using more environmentally friendly transport options during the month of June. I hope they will continue to do so in the coming months and not only when travelling to work. The goal of awarding participants from our university was to recognize the efforts of our employees and motivate them to get involved again next year.”
