For 13 years, pupils at Pullach Primary School have been saying “yes” twice a year to the initiative “Autofrei – ich bin dabei” (“Car-free – I’m on board”). The enjoyment of taking part and the sense of shared
achievement encourage them to travel to school without a car and to adopt alternative, climate-friendly modes of transport in the long term. In doing so, they also influence their parents and raise awareness of other sustainable forms of mobility – not only on the journey to school. As part of the IBA-M, the initiative is now set to be further developed and rolled out across the entire Munich Metropolitan Region.
Changing mobility habits in a playful way
Twice a year, pupils at Pullach Primary School record their journeys over a period of several weeks. Since 2024, they’ve even been using an app that visualises the daily total of car-free kilometres travelled through a gradually revealed image displayed on school monitors, documenting the progress of the entire school community.
The shared experience creates motivation, a sense of community and feelings of achievement within the classes, while strengthening pupils’ confidence in travelling to and from school independently. As a reward for the CO2 saved and the commitment shown, symbolic trees are planted in the municipality of Pullach.
Car-free – the whole region is joining in!
The plan is to further develop the initiative so it can be rolled out across the metropolitan region. The idea is to produce new supporting materials and offer training courses as well as encouraging more target groups and school types to participate.
