PA MediaAt least 60% of children in England should be walking or cycling to school within a decade under the government’s new active travel plans.
Ministers say millions more five-to-16-year-olds will be able to travel by foot or bike using thousands of safer routes promised under its “record” £4.5bn investment strategy.
At least half of all short trips in towns and cities should also be walked, wheeled or cycled by 2035 and a “national walking and cycling network” will be available on route mapping apps within five years, under the plans.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the strategy sought to make active travel “a practical choice for millions more journeys”.
The latest government data, from 2023, suggested that 47% of children aged five to 16 usually walk or cycle to school.
Some 5,000 walking, wheeling and cycling routes and 10,000 “safer” crossings will be built by 2030 to meet the new target, the Department for Transport (DfT) said, which will be delivered alongside local authorities and Active Travel England.
There will be £135m spent on programmes training children to walk and cycle safely to school, and to help schools develop travel plans – although it is already commonplace that they encourage pupils to avoid car journeys.
Ministers also want 55% of short trips to be active by 2035 – including what is described as a “stage” of a journey, such as walking or cycling to onward public transport. The current level is 48%, according to the DfT.
The increase would mean 5.3m more people being physically active in towns and cities, ministers say.
The strategy also sets out plans to develop a national active travel network that is “usable at a national scale”, including consistent signage and availability online alongside the road network.
The Walk Wheel Cycle Trust, which promotes active travel, welcomed the “ambitious” new schools target, “that rightly includes secondary school pupils and explicitly recognises cycling”.
“This represents a significant step forward in creating lasting benefits for children and young people,” policy chief Rachel White said.
The Cycle to Work Alliance said safe infrastructure and affordable access to such travel routes were needed to change behaviour, “and this strategy is an important step towards delivering both”.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “Too many people would like to walk, wheel or cycle more often but don’t feel they have safe and convenient options to do so.”
“This is about creating healthier communities, helping households keep more money in their pockets and building a transport network that works better for everyone.”
Health Secretary James Murray said the plan would “help more people build exercise into their everyday lives, improving public health and supporting our ambition to reduce pressure on the NHS”.
Transport is largely devolved in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, meaning the plan does not apply to these parts of the UK.
The previous Welsh Labour government had said 45% of journeys should be by “sustainable modes” by 2040, with active school travel playing a key part – though a Senedd committee warned in December that progress towards that figure had been “painfully slow”.
Northern Ireland had set a target for 20% of all journeys shorter than one mile (1.6km) be cycled by 2025 and, under its 2022 Climate Change Act, committed to spending 10% of its transport budget on active travel. Its national audit office warned in September that neither target appeared to have been met.
Scotland is aiming for walking and cycling to be the most popular choice for short journeys by 2030. Government data suggests levels have stayed roughly the same since 2012, at 1-2% for cycling and around 50% for walking respectively.