Mayor’s Active Travel Fund

We want to provide opportunities for people across our city, towns, rural and coastal areas to make affordable, sustainable choices, and enjoy safer journeys to school and work.

To do this, we’re investing in our communities to support a positive and long-lasting change in the region.

• Active travel reduces the burden on healthcare systems by lowering the rates of obesity, heart disease and diabetes. £700m of health economic benefits are associated with active commuting alone (WHO, Scotland)
• People who exercise for around 30 minutes a day are found to take around 25 per cent less short-term sick leave
• Average cycling trip distance is longer than walking, so good cycling networks could increase the area with access to public transport modes twenty-fold
• In other areas of the country, such as London (TFL) – 85 per cent of business districts see cycling as important to business performance, and 95 per cent say the same for walking
• Every £1 spent on active travel infrastructure returns an average of £5.6, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)

The fund is designed to support projects that encourage more walking, wheeling, or cycling. This could be through initiatives such as:

• Improving walking routes
• Making routes more accessible, for example installing dropped kerbs
• Developing School Streets
• Providing safe cycle storage
• Offering cycle training

The Mayor's Active Travel Fund currently supports 39 projects totalling £3.4 million.

View the projects awarded a share of the Mayor's Active Travel Fund here.