Small Routes, Big Impact

Every short journey you walk, run or cycle instead of drive is a quiet win. A win for your body, a win for your lungs, and a win for the world right outside your front door.

This calculator shows how those wee everyday choices add up — from cutting greenhouse gas emissions to reducing the tyre pollution that gets flung into the air around us. No guilt trip. No perfection required. Just real numbers, real impact, and a reminder that small actions done often can make a massive difference.

Pop in your journey and discover your impact.

Remember to share it with your friends.

What this calculator is showing you

This calculator estimates how much greenhouse gas and tyre-related particulate pollution you avoid when you walk, run or cycle instead of driving. The carbon figures use official UK Government conversion factors for petrol, diesel and electric vehicles, so the numbers are based on current UK reporting data rather than guesswork (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, 2025a).

The particulate section focuses on tyre wear because road pollution is not just about exhaust pipes. Even lower-emission vehicles still generate tiny particles as tyres wear against the road, and these non-exhaust sources are becoming more important as tailpipe emissions fall (European Environment Agency, 2023; European Environment Agency, 2025).

Why carbon matters

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere, which is part of what keeps the planet liveable. The issue is that human activity, especially burning fossil fuels, has increased these gases well beyond natural balance, meaning more heat is trapped and the climate warms (NASA, 2024a).

That extra warming is linked with more intense climate impacts and growing pressure on ecosystems, water, food systems and everyday life (NASA, 2024b; NASA, 2026). So when you swap a short drive for active travel, you are making a small but real cut in emissions.

The bit folk often miss: particulate matter

Particulate matter is made up of tiny airborne particles. PM10 are particles 10 micrometres or smaller, while PM2.5 are even smaller at 2.5 micrometres or less (World Health Organization, 2021; UK Government, 2025). The smaller they are, the deeper they can travel into the body.

Tyre wear is one of the key non-exhaust sources of these particles from road transport. That means cutting car journeys can reduce more than just carbon. It can also help reduce the fine particulate muck being generated in the first place (European Environment Agency, 2025).

Why this matters for health and nature

PM10 can get into the airways and lungs, while PM2.5 can travel deep into the lungs and even into the bloodstream (World Health Organization, 2024). Air pollution is linked with respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease and millions of premature deaths globally (World Health Organization, 2024; World Health Organization, n.d.).

It also affects the wider environment. Particles can settle onto land and water, affect soils, damage vegetation and add pressure to ecosystems (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2025a; US Environmental Protection Agency, 2025b).