ECO2TRAVEL

Home page includes method for users to input travel details to start a search & visual map to increase clarity of distance being traveled.
Results page includes flight results as well as eco-friendly alternatives to flights. Eco-grades are distributed for each result.

Inspiration

In this explosive innovative age with the rapid expansion of technology, it is more important than ever to adopt a more environmentally conscious lifestyle to preserve our Earth. Currently, there are no platforms that emphasize the environmental detriments and benefits of using certain modes of transportation so that important information is not being brought to attention. This important component of travel is largely not known and the first step to change is learning about the issue. Our platform hopes to provide a more transparent itinerary that encourages users to choose a more green method of transport.

What it does

ECO2TRAVEL promotes more environmentally friendly travel options with an emphasis on sustainability for a cleaner tomorrow – rewarding those who choose to travel green by offering rewards to users who choose to travel green. This application allows for users to search for flights like a traditional platform, but places an emphasis on "eco-grades." These "eco-grades" are calculated through CO2 emissions per passenger and are relative to the mode of transport that produces the least emissions per passenger. Each result is given an "eco-grade." In addition to flight results, this platform also gives users results for eco-friendly alternatives which consist of other forms of travel, such as trains and buses. Points are awarded for choosing the most eco-friendly flight OR one of the eco-friendly alternatives and these points add up to a membership status which would grant the user additional benefits like percent off of flights. This is aimed to create incentive for users to utilize more green transport methods.

How we built it

We built ECO2TRAVEL utilizing Amadeus Flight API, Ameadeus Autocomplete API, Google Maps API, Python, Flask, HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

Challenges we ran into

Determining the estimated flight distance between various flights was a challenge because the APIs did not provide such information. We also had difficulties in determining the costs of the transits from the Google Maps API. Some other difficulties included scoring the different modes of transportation, organizing the flight data and Google Maps data, and also making sure the emission data was accurate. We wanted to create a great user experience and also make sure that we were providing the best data to users.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re really proud that we were able to make something that can make a difference in the world and help reduce the carbon footprint of everyone on Earth. We were able to utilize many different APIs to create this platform and this shows how technology and environment can coexist to benefit the world.

What we learned

We learned such a vast amount in a short time about the environmental impacts of aviation in comparison to other modes of traveling. By encouraging the adoption of more sustainable travel habits, we can help reduce the carbon footprint one person at a time.

What's next for ECO2TRAVEL

In the future, we hope that ECO2TRAVEL can be more closely partnered with airlines to aid in the global wide effort to reduce carbon emissions and increase sustainability. These airlines would also provide some kind of benefit to go through our platform to inform their travelers about carbon emissions and other pollutants and how they can reduce their own footprint just by picking a flight at a different time. Although we did not have time to create a profile, we hope to make this a more social platform and include more incentives for users like membership benefits to encourage more eco friendly traveling.

Built With

Submitted to

Cal Hacks 3.0

Created by

I worked on the user interface and experience of the web application. The cluttered interfaces of traditional travel websites drove me to create a more simplified and easy to use interface that minimizes ambiguity the user may face. I also contributed to developing a more realistic business model to incentivize travelers to utilize more environmentally conscious modes of traveling.

Karen Liang
I was in charge of the backend of this web app, mainly to implement Amadeus' and Google Maps' APIs in order to provide data for our sustainable footprint model. Furthermore, it was my first time learning how to utilize the Flask framework and implementing large amounts of data from multiple APIs, and it was my first time in general working purely on the backend. Nevertheless, I learned a LOT about Flask, APIs, and backend development.

Yoon Kim
Simon Cao