Active travel is when we walk, cycle or scoot our everyday journeys rather than drive.
It is one of the foundations of a healthy society and makes us healthier and happier, our roads less congested and polluted, and our communities more connected.
To raise awareness of what active travel is and how it works, and to discuss plans of how it can be implemented in the UK, we brought together innovators and thinkers at the forefront of this movement in our webinar, Active Travel: the Vital Boost our Health and our Neighbourhoods Need Now.
Attendees discovered how active travel is a crucial upgrade to both our health and to where we live and how we can empower communities to reap the benefits.
It’s time to shift active travel from a desirable option to an everyday fundamental through continued investment in safe and extensive infrastructure and ensuring communities have the agency and ability to access it.
The panel
Each speaker provided practical examples of what works well, what will make a difference and how we accelerate the process to deploy active travel at scale.
Chris Boardman CBE
An Olympic gold medallist, world record holder and three-time Tour de France stage winner. Chris is Chair of Sport England, England’s first Cycling and Walking Commissioner and leader of Active Travel England.
Ansaf Azhar
Oxford County Council’s Corporate Director of Public Health. He has more than 20 years of experience in the public sector, both within the NHS and local government
Catherine Woodhead
Chief Executive of Living Streets, a charity for everyday walking. A former team member of The Prince’s Foundation for Building Communities, she is keen to put pedestrians at the heart of the UK’s plans for healthier, cleaner, safer and happier communities.
Daniel Bulawa
Policy and Delivery Manager, People & Place, Transport Scotland.
Through the ‘People & Place’ portfolio of investment the Scottish Government supports Regional Transport Partnerships and Local Authorities for the purpose of providing for, and directly delivering, sustainable and active travel behaviour change programs.
Dr William Bird MBE
Pioneered the concept of social prescribing by setting up the first Health Walk scheme, closely followed by the first Green Gym. He set up Intelligent Health, an organisation that has a mission to build healthier, active and more connected communities and is the Chair of Active Essex, the Active Partnership for Essex.
The science behind active travel
To kick off, Dr William Bird infused a bit of science into proceedings, delivering enlightening facts and figures behind the benefits of physical activity and exercise.
How active travel creates the conditions for health
Chris Boardman gave a national and international overview of the benefits of active travel and how Sport England and Active Travel England are attempting to implement it nationwide.
Active travel has the power to contribute to 4.5 million fewer sick days, 2 million freed GP appointments and prevent 2,500 premature deaths..
It can help introduce household savings of up to £1,700 by avoiding second car and support a £115 billion economic boost
Why walking is so important and how active travel is fundamental to increasing life expectancy
This was supplemented by national and local case studies respectively from Ansaf Azhar and Catherine Woodhead and the difference in approach between a regional public service and a national charity.
The situation in Scotland
Finally, Daniel Bulawa provided an update on the situation in, and perspective of, Scotland in active travel.
Key takeaways for councils from each panellist
Daniel: be vision-led, push through opposition, follow-up studies show schemes are more popular once built
Ansaf: quantify return on investment, tell stories with data, frame as investment not cost
Chris: do less, better; focus on one thing that solves multiple problems at once
Catherine: consult properly, get case studies early, be bold for children; “if you can’t be brave for children, why are you doing your job?”
