The Department for Transport has published its third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, setting a national target for 55% of short journeys in towns and cities to be made by walking, wheeling or cycling by 2035. Announced on 12 June 2026, the strategy also sets a separate goal for 60% of children aged 5 to 16 to travel actively to school by the same date. In policy terms, the document moves active travel from a supporting measure to a stated national transport objective. The emphasis is on short urban trips rather than all journeys, with ministers focusing on everyday travel to schools, local services, high streets and stations.
The strategy says government is projected to invest more than £4.5 billion in active travel over the next five years. Working through Active Travel England and local authorities, ministers say that funding should support 5,000 new walking, wheeling and cycling routes and 10,000 safer crossings by 2030. The Department for Transport presents this as a delivery programme as well as a funding announcement. Local authorities and combined authorities are expected to shape schemes around existing street networks and local travel patterns, while central government sets the national targets and the overall investment envelope.
The Department for Transport says the new routes are intended to connect homes with schools, high streets, local services and public transport hubs. That detail matters because the strategy treats active travel as part of a wider transport network, with rail stations, buses and local streets expected to work together rather than as separate systems. Published alongside Active Travel England's delivery plan, Worth Every Step, the strategy places walking and cycling across transport, health and local growth policy at the same time. It also sits within the government's wider Pride in Place programme, which is intended to give local leaders a stronger role in neighbourhood renewal.
The government states that the package could reduce congestion, lower carbon emissions and support local economies, while also easing household costs. The strategy says that if a household can give up a second car because short journeys shift to active travel, average savings could be around £1,700 a year, or more than £17,000 over a decade. On health, ministers cite projected reductions in pressure on primary care and employment absence. The published estimates say a more active population could free up around 1.7 million GP appointments each year and contribute to 4.4 million fewer sick days.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the policy responds to a long-running barrier: many people want to walk, wheel or cycle more often but do not have routes that feel safe or convenient. The Department for Transport has framed the combination of targets, capital investment and delivery planning as the route to making active travel a routine option for more journeys. The Department of Health and Social Care has been presented as a joint partner in the programme. Health Secretary James Murray linked the investment to the 10 Year Health Plan for England and to the government's aim of reducing pressure on the NHS, while Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said the greatest health gains come when inactive people begin doing some regular physical activity.
Active Travel England has placed school travel and crossings near the centre of implementation. National Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman said the earliest gains are likely to come from a more active school run and from simpler street safety measures, particularly zebra crossings. Responses from mayors and delivery bodies point in the same direction. The West of England said current regional investment will support almost 100 miles of new and improved routes. Greater Manchester said around a third of journeys are already made actively and that 90% of people walk as part of their public transport trips. South Yorkshire pointed to work with more than 170 primary schools, while Living Streets described the commitment to 10,000 crossings as one of the clearest practical elements in the package.
For local government, the immediate question is not whether active travel remains a ministerial priority but how quickly schemes can move from allocation to delivery. The 2030 commitments on routes and crossings create a nearer-term implementation test, while the 2035 targets will depend on whether those schemes change everyday travel behaviour at scale. For households, schools and employers, the practical effect will be seen in street design, junction treatment, school access and connections to stations and town centres. Policy attention now shifts to funding distribution, design standards, local authority capacity and whether the Department for Transport and Active Travel England publish transparent progress measures against both the 2030 delivery milestones and the 2035 mode-share targets.