World Mental Health Day - how commuting can impact on you

We all have good days and bad days, but sometimes those bad days build up.

Firstly its good to talk and the sooner the better, that can be with a friend, a stranger, an organisation such as the Samaritans or Occupational Health within your company.

Please don’t suffer in silence with the Black Dog, Shed Collapses, being Under a Cloud or feeling down or however you describe your feelings, you know when you’re not happy.

Commuting daily to work is identified as one of the daily lows and can be a trigger for depression. This can account for 20% of your working day, not the part you actually get paid for either.

Extracts from a report published by Royal Society of Public Health :
"Why your commute is killing you: stressful rush-hour journeys are shortening commuters' lifespans," the report arguing that commuting can negatively impact both physical and mental health.

In England and Wales 90% of the workforce commutes to work, spending an average of 56 minutes travelling, rising to 79 minutes in London.

The benefits of active travel, such as cycling and walking to work, are well known, yet the majority of commuters opt for passive travel, commuting by car, bus or train – often out of necessity rather than choice.

The main findings were that health status, level of happiness and satisfaction were lower for people who had longer commutes. These people were also more likely to go to their GP.

In a poll of 1,500 people, 55% said they felt more stressed as a result of their commute.

A recommendation of downloading some podcasts on to your smartphone ahead of time can keep you distracted during your commute, which may help reduce your stress levels.

In Bristol Slide not only tries to help the environment with a sustainable solution of shared commuting, but a Slide ride can reduce stress of your daily commute , by reducing your travel time, comfortable vehicles with guaranteed seats and space, no need to find parking and savings can be used to treat yourself, our friendly drivers are more than happy if you want to chat and feel good in helping the environment by sharing your commute #sharingiscaring

Less cars on the road, hassle free commuting and some time to yourself are a few steps to relive commuting stress.

NEW - more Slide pick up and drop off options

If you live or work in close proximity to more than one Slide stop, you now have more options of pick up location and therefore more times.

Book your ride as normal - enter date, number of passengers, FROM & TO and time.

Ride options will be displayed along with a new button * More pickup options in between shown times, this indicates additional ride options are available for this search.

Click the * More pick up options and you will see additional options.

The new options will be shown in bold, they may have a slightly longer walk of a few minutes, walking time is shown next to the pick up and drop off times. Also see a new part of your local area !

Walking map clearly shows you the way to alternative stops and the combined walk & ride time is shown along with the fixed price.

Alternative stops provides you with more choice of times and locations, often an alternative pick up location may provide a shorter overall journey time.

Try the new feature now:

• Update your app to latest version to activate:
  - Android : 1.4.0
  - iOS : 1.3.9

• Search in app for trip required - where and when you want to go 

• Select from list shown or search for more options

• More pick up times & nearby locations will be listed

• Check walk time to all pick up & drop off locations and book the trip that suits you best - walking time, location, pick up time and ride time.

• The choice is yours - current pickup and drop offs remain, these are additional nearby  locations.

Life is better with Friends, enjoy summer in Bristol together

Life is better with friends and we have two offers to help you share the Slide summer love !

First a unique referral code in your app, pass this on to friends and you will earn £15 Slide credit every time it is used. Unlimited - how many friends do you have ?

Secondly, did you know that you can take two friends FREE with you on every ride?
Travel with your friends for less this summer as up to two friends go FREE with each booking. Just be sure to include the correct number of passengers in your booking to make sure our drivers are aware.

We made referring friends to Slide more fruitful for you, as every time you refer and they complete their first ride you get your £15 Slide credit added, this code is endless, so the more you refer the more credit for you.

Or bring them along to try for free - Free ride, what's not to Love ?

Simply book your ride and increase the number of passengers in the top right of the screen, in WHEN section. You can book more passengers in one booking, but the first additional 2 are free - Mint Innit ! 

So three friends can travel together for the price of one trip - got to love that ! Although you all need to be travelling together, same pick up and drop off points so no falling out along the way ! 

It’s all because we value your opinion above everything else, as do your friends and family. Maybe you’ve tried Slide a few times and loved how we made your trip to work more enjoyable, or maybe you’re a regular Slider who’s troublesome commute is now 20 minutes shorter, hassle free and a lot more comfortable.

Well, if you love us, we’d love you to share that love with your friends, family and colleagues. Each friend you refer will get a free ride and when they take their first trip we’ll give you £15 in credit...and so on it goes, as many times as you like. A friend of yours is a friend of ours.

Why not use Slide for leisure as well as work, you don't have to take your free friends on your regular commute, you could meet up and take a Slide to the cinema, theatre, out for dinner or drinks after work. Let them experience what you are loving about Slide first hand.

We have just celebrated our 2nd birthday and want to go on providing Bristol with a hassle-free, sustainable transport service well into the future and we’d like you to help us do that.

Or ask a friend to join you as a free passenger and it wont cost them a penny, if they want to use Slide more regularly make sure you get the Slide credit by passing on your referral code !

Hey...that’s what friends are for right? Share the Slide love and ride with friends this summer.

Keep Cool - keep hydrated in the heat

Bristol is not alone sweltering in the sunshine and heat. As the MET Office warns people to stay out of the mid day sun and look out for the vulnerable, there are a number of things you can do to keep yourself healthy and hydrated this summer.

Don't leave home without a refillable bottle to carry water on your commute. 
Slide has partnered with Refill Bristol - who locate free water  refills across Bristol at water fountains cafes, offices and sports centres. Download the app and look for the REFILL stickers.

For a chance to win a Refill Chilly bottle look at our Slide  Facebook page

STAY HYDRATED - this is the most important advice. Just being a little bit dehydrated in the heat can cause you heart to work harder and your muscles to fatigue, leaving you lethargic and exhausted as your metabolic process will slow down leaving you sluggish. To combat this drink at least 2 litres every day and if active add electrolytes to replenish lost minerals through sweat.

HOT DRINKS - as odd it it may sound hot drinks such as coffee and tea can help cool you down and beat the lethargy by keeing you alert. So maybe that black Americano or Green or red tea will refresh and boost your day.

SNACK LIGHTLY - your body is unlikely to be craving a big heavy meal, but you need to eat to keep your energy up. So lighter smaller meals or snacks little and often is the key. Try some new fruits or mixed salads, vegetables, lean meat and fish to keep you protein, nutrients and energy levels in balance.

SLEEP - some people find it hard to sleep in the heat, so its important to do what you can to get a good nights rest and some quality sleep. Try a fan in the room, put your pillow cases in the freezer or fridge before bed for a cool head. Fill a hot water bottle up with ice cold water. Have a cold shower before you climb in to bed.

SUNSHINE - who doesn't love Bristol on a sunny summers day, just take care of yourself and others - slap on the sunscreen, seek shade, wear light loose clothing and consider a hat.

SUSTAINABILITY - whilst helping ourselves we can also help the environment this summer, please use a reusable / refillable bottle or cup for water and drinks for less plastic waste. Continue to use Slide shared commuting - Sharing is Caring, less vehicles on the roads of Bristol. No sweat: our comfortable, spacious vehicles have air conditioning to keep you cool and arrive refreshed.

Keep cool - stay hydrated - enjoy the summer with Slide.

Happy 2nd Birthday Slide

Slide Bristol the original on demand shared commuting service is celebrating its second birthday this week. Thank you to all our customers, regulars, old and new over the past two years.

As part of our celebrations we will be running online competitions with some great prizes this week, as well as party bags given out on board for our customers as a thank you - these are the grown up healthy version, who doesn't like a party bag ! 

Party bags will include a healthy snack, PUKKA Tea bags, porridge sachets, stress bulls, pens, lanyards, stickers and postcards from friends of Slide. Given out by our 5 star drivers.

We are partnering with Refill Bristol ( City to Sea) to keep you hydrated and healthy in this summer heat. Download the Refill app and locate free water refill locations close to your Slide pick ups locations so you always have fresh water with you as you board your Slide.
We have REFILL branded Chilly bottles worth £20 each and stainless steel pint pots to give away.
Check out our Facebook and Twitter pages for more details this week.

New Maps

You will have seen that we have added a new feature which provides alternative pick up points and additional times to your usual trips. These may have a slightly longer walk, directions include in app.

To help you locate alternative stops head over to our ZONE page to see the service area maps - City, Central & North. Also zoom in on the Google map to see in detail all stops with street names.

New feature - more pickup and drop off options

New in-app feature

Slide is now offering more nearby locations & so more times for your convenience. Check app for slightly longer walking times and more pickup times to complete your journey.

We are pleased to now offer you more pick up & drop off locations and so more choice. Alternative nearby locations will be listed along with your usual stop when you perform a search to book. Don't worry your usual pickup and drop off locations are still available - just giving you the option of more nearby locations as an alternative.

The new options may have a slightly longer walk of a few minutes, the walking time is shown next to the pick up and drop off times. Walking map clearly shows you the way to alternative stops and the combined walk & ride times are shown along with the fixed price.

Alternative stops provide you with more choice of times and pick up and drop off locations. If you can walk a couple of minutes further than your usual stop, there will be more options available. Sometimes an extra two minute walk will get you to your final destination earlier than waiting for a later Slide to arrive. The choice is yours.

Check the ZONE page for detailed service area maps and more detailed map of Slide stop locations - with road names.

Try the new feature now:

• Update your app to latest version to activate:
  - Android : 1.3.9
  - iOS : 1.3.8
• Search in app for trip required - where and when you want to go 
• Usual trips and more pick up times & nearby locations will be listed togther.
• Check walk time to all pick up & drop off locations and book the trip that suits you best - walking time, location, pick up time and ride time.

Many thanks, see you on-board soon,
Slide Bristol

For example a morning search could provide the above options with varying walking times to and from stops, from 3 to 9 minutes.

Total trip time including walk-ride-walk is shown on the left for comparison.

Easter weekend service information

Spring has finally sprung in Bristol, just in time for the Easter Weekend the daffodils are bursting through and no sign of snow!
 
Why not Slide into Easter weekend with style and take a Slide ride home to enjoy even more time with family and friends.

Easter weekend service information

Slide will not be operating on Good Friday or Easter Monday, our drivers will be enjoying the long weekend too but will be ready to take you back to work on Tuesday 3rd April.

Happy Easter!