Why Active Travel?

There’s plenty of evidence that active travel – walking, wheeling and cycling – is good for our bodies, our minds, our communities and our climate.  

Health and Wellbeing

Sir Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer for England, has said that the benefits of active travel “cannot be overstated” and that “people will live longer, happier lives if they can have active travel and we can make it attractive enough.”  

Being active is linked to better physical and mental health, and one of the best ways for more people to be more active more regularly is for exercise to be incorporated into everyday life. That’s why active travel could be so transformational for the nation’s health – it makes exercise part of our routine rather than being an extra thing to do. Research suggests that if we increased cycling levels in the UK to those similar to Denmark, it would save the NHS over £17bn in the next 20 years. 

There’s also evidence that less traffic improves social connectivity, with good walking conditions linked to lower levels of loneliness and more connections with friends and family. 

Climate and environment

Transport is the biggest sector in the UK when it comes to carbon emissions, and around 90% of domestic transport emissions are from road transport. Transport is one of the few sectors where emissions remain stubbornly high, and have continued to grow while other sectors have fallen. If we are going to meet our climate goals, we will have to change the way that we get around. 

Greater Manchester also has some of the most polluted air in the country, with levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), one of the most harmful pollutants, at dangerously high levels. One of the main sources of NO2 is dirty vehicles, particularly diesels. Cutting out short journeys helps to clean up the air that we all breathe. 

Joy!

The evidence that a general shift from polluting vehicles to active travel would be good for everyone is indisputable. But getting bogged down in all the stats obscures the real reason that lots of us want to walk or cycle more – it brings us joy! When the conditions are right, walking, wheeling or cycling can make you happy. There’s studies that show people who walk or cycle to work are generally happier than those that have to commute by car. 

But we’ve designed our cities and towns around cars for too long, so at the moment it feels difficult or unsafe for lots of people to walk or cycle more. 

That’s why we campaign for the changes that will help to make active travel accessible to everyone. It’s well evidenced that new infrastructure designed to support greater active travel can result in widespread increases in walking, cycling and physical activity.

Get involved and help us spread the joy! 


Want to know more? IPPR’s report Stride and Ride is a great resource containing evidence and stats about the various benefits that could be gained from more investment in active travel.