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Buckle up for a road trip challenge – with a difference
Two teams, one continent, an epic competition and only one rule: the team with the lowest CO2 emissions wins.
This is The Great Travel Hack, a show hosted by radio DJ Greg James and Dutch actress Katja Schuurman, who have challenged four celebrities to embark on an extraordinary journey across Europe.
Season two of the show follows the twists and turns faced by the two teams as they battle it out to get from London to Istanbul on the lowest CO2 emissions possible – this isn’t a race about travelling faster, it’s about travelling cleaner.
The journey takes you across the beautiful sights of Europe in a range of different vehicles, from those you may be more familiar with, like a Jaguar i-PACE, BMW i3 Rex and a Porsche Panamera, to more unconventional modes of transport – including a Modobag, a Scrooser and an electric Quadrofoil boat. The series is not to be missed!
With nearly 30 percent of the world’s total energy use coming from transport, the teams are tasked with navigating their way across Europe while aiming to keep their emissions as low as possible. [IEA’s World Energy Balances Overview 2018].
From electrically powered London taxi cabs to ride-on suitcases (yes, you read that correctly), the teams managed to use, in total, over 30 different lower emission vehicles as they made their way from the English capital to the Turkish coast.
The Great Travel Hack gives us some much-needed inspiration when it comes to aiming to keep your CO2 emissions as low as possible, while still experiencing incredible sights and cultures all over the world. This comes as research shows that 71 percent of people in the UK would like to reduce their carbon footprint while travelling, but nearly half are not sure how they can do so. [Research carried out by Edelman Intelligence in March 2019].
“The idea of The Great Travel Hack is to show that we don’t have to stop travelling and exploring the world. But that it’s important we think carefully about alternative forms of transport. It also informs people of the developments and innovations that are being made,” said host Greg James.
To give you an indication of how this really is a road trip with a difference, just take a look at this selection of some of the brilliantly innovative vehicles used by each team throughout.
The Stigo Bike – Electric – Max speed: 26kmph
Swincar – Electric – Max Speed: 29kmph
Mercedes Benz GLC F-Cell – Electric & Hydrogen – Max speed: 159kmph
Range Rover Sport PHEV – Plug-in hybrid – Max speed: 220kmph
Porsche Panamera – Plug-in hybrid – Max speed: 274kmph
