Minister of Health Nelson Bascome and Government Health Promotion Coordinator Dr. Jennifer Attride-Stirling both say "Burn Fat not Fuel" day was a success.

On Friday, residents were encouraged by Government to leave their cars and motorbikes at home and either catch the bus or ferry into work or walk, run or cycle. The idea was to encourage healthier lifestyles by burning those calories and at the same time reducing pollution and global warming in the environment. As an incentive, all buses and ferries were free for the day.

Participants were to report their activities to the Department of Health's website by Sunday. Numbers are still being tallied and health officials said they will be available by the end of day today.

On the success of the initiative, Mr. Bascome said: "The Burn Fat not Fuel initiative is about changing lifestyles.

"The success of the day is not in how many people participated but in the message of the day reaching its target. There could not have been many people in Bermuda who were not aware of the initiative and its intent.

"The success is in those who have, or will make life changing decisions as a result of the information that was shared in the lead up to Friday.

"A key role of public health is promotion of healthy lifestyles. Therefore, we believe it was a success."

Dr. Attride-Stirling said: "The initiative was certainly very successful in raising awareness of the issues and getting the public talking about both the environment and health in terms of sustainable transport use.

"That was the purpose of the initiative. One day of action is not enough, but it's another step toward increasing public awareness."

She explained she had spoken to at least two people who caught the bus into Hamilton and then jogged home. She said people who caught the buses or ferries found the commute easy. She cycled into work.

Dr. Attride-Stirling added more than 700 people were registered to participate but only 180 had reported the activity as of yesterday. She said people were still calling in and that is why the final number won't be ready until the end of today.

Asked if the initiative will be repeated, Dr. Attride-Stirling said: "There is not a timeline for the next event, but the positive feedback from the public and our partners are very encouraging.

"This year it was done in support of the 2008 World Health Day theme: protect health from climate change."