UPDATE: 12.03pm - As most people may have noticed, this is indeed an April Fool's prank.

A NEW Park-and-Zorb station is being trialled in Southampton in a bid to cut air pollution and give commuters a fun and healthy alternative way of getting to work.

Southampton has been chosen as one of 23 commuter hotspots across the UK to embark on the trial, which has been launched.

For just £2.50 per day, or £9.99 for a five-day pass, city workers in Southampton can now leave their cars in the LivingSOcial Park-and-Zorb station, at Kings Park Roll, before rolling the rest of the way to work.

LivingSocial, an online marketplace where shoppers can buy local experiences, has been selling weekend Zorbing activities – where users roll inside an orb made of transparent plastic – for a number of years and has now pledged to develop the activity as a green commuting alternative.

It is hoping to capitalise on the government’s push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Daily Echo:

Steven Marritt, chief executive of LivingSocial UK, said: “A number of international companies like ours are looking into alternative modes of transport such as electric-powered vehicles and self-drive cars.

“The short-term plan is to take the number of Park-and-Zorb stations to 50 by the end of 2015 and we’ve set our sights on Europe during 2016.”