Government urged to protect £4 billion worth of active travel investment
Government urged to protect £4 billion worth of active travel investment
Posted on 31 Oct 2022
Sustrans has announced that it has joined together with other organisations representing active travel, motoring, road safety, the environment and business leaders to urge the UK government to protect the £4 billion funding pot which is earmarked to help ‘level up’ walking and cycling across the country.
The cross-sector group has written to the Secretary of State for Transport, Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, to emphasise the vital contribution of walking and cycling to the UK’s urban and rural economic growth and to society.
This comes after the launch of the charity’s brand-new report which highlights that walking, wheeling and cycling generated £36.5 billion for the UK economy in 2021.
The letter calls for the protection of funding for cycling and walking, already committed in the second Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy 2022. According to Sustrans, it is important that this money is ringfenced, in order to foster aspirations for growth and to support people through the cost-of-living-crisis.
Xavier Brice, Sustrans CEO, said: “It’s clear that active forms of travel, such as walking and cycling, bring in billions of pounds of economic benefit. Plus, as people are hit by the cost-of-living-crisis, affordable ways of getting around are critical. People must have the opportunity to make the active travel choice instead of expensive car use, to boost people’s spending power for the benefit of the economy and our hopes of growth.”