Transport is the largest emitting sector in the UK, accounting for about 24% of emissions. The majority (91%) of emissions from domestic transport is from road vehicles, more than half of which is from cars. Car trips under 5km make up 43% of all journeys and 23-28% of emissions.
As well as burning fossil fuels in the form of oil, diesel and petrol, transport vehicles also emit harmful pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. 1,711 people were killed and 133,769 were injured on UK roads in 2022. In the same year, 91 pedal cyclists were killed and 4,056 were severely injured in the UK. The built environment must enable safe and sustainable practices of active travel.
Switching to lower carbon modes of transport, including active travel (walking and cycling), public transport and shared mobility can reduce the number of vehicles on the road. The Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan outlines a cross-government focus to fulfil a commitment that everyone should live within 15-minute walk of a green or blue space and a vision for half of all journeys in towns and cities to be cycled or walked by 2023. However, there has not been sufficient progress on this in the UK.
Interventions that combine the promotion of active travel alongside public transport and reduced private car use can significantly improve population health while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. In 2021, people walking, wheeling and cycling resulted in 14.6 million fewer cars on the roads, which saved 2.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and prevented 138,000 serious long-term health conditions. Increased physical activity can reduce obesity and prevent type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and other obesity-related co-morbidities. Studies have shown that a median increase in active transport from 4 minutes to 22 minutes can reduce the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases by 14%. The health benefits of active travel include improved productivity and reduced pressure on the health service associated with air pollution, physical inactivity and social isolation.
Active travel routes also provide green corridors to help cool cities and enable people to connect with nature. More than one-third of people on low incomes and a similar number of disabled people do not have access to a car, and for many that do it is becoming prohibitively expensive to run.
When delivered in a fair and safe way, low-traffic and fifteen-minute neighbourhoods can offer a wide range of co-benefits to local communities, saving residents the need to drive to access services, encouraging active travel, and improving air quality and access to green spaces. There is high-level support from both residents and businesses in areas where low-traffic neighbourhood schemes have been introduced. For example, 58% of Londoners support the introduction of LTNs, while only 17% are opposed.
In March 2023, the active travel budget in England was substantially cut, including a two-thirds cut to capital investment for active travel infrastructure from £300 million to £100 million. The Scottish government has committed to allocate £320 million (10% of the transport budget) to active travel by 2024-5 but is falling short of its target. In the ten years since the Active Travel (Wales) Act was passed, funding has increased to £73 million in 2023-4, but there has been little progress in increasing levels of active travel. It is critical that funding for active travel is adequate to support the development and implementation of active travel plans; a failure to do so will adversely impact those on low incomes (who stand to benefit most)and limit the choice to travel healthy, cheaply and emissions-free.
To ensure that policy interventions aimed at achieving net zero reduce rather than widen inequalities, communities must be consulted and provided with targeted support to overcome any mobility barriers that could be introduced by policy changes, including by investing more in public and active travel combined with accessible transport options.