Speaking in Manchester on 22 September 2026, the Transport Secretary used a Department for Transport speech to set out a clearer policy line on active travel. The headline measure was £104 million for the National Cycle Network, but the broader message was that walking, wheeling and cycling are now being treated as standard parts of the transport system, including the links to bus, rail, school and local high streets.
This marks a shift in emphasis from stand-alone cycling schemes to network planning. The Secretary said active travel should no longer be an afterthought or bolt-on, and instead should sit alongside public transport, accessibility and street design from the start. For transport authorities, that points to a more integrated approach in which signage, crossings, station access and road safety measures are planned as part of one system rather than as separate projects.
The speech should also be read alongside the government's third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy. According to the Department for Transport, billions will be invested in active travel by 2030, with most of that funding devolved to local government and backed by multi-year settlements. That is a material change for councils and combined authorities, because longer funding horizons make it easier to sequence works, retain design teams and develop corridors that extend beyond one financial year.
Devolution was one of the clearest themes in Manchester. The Secretary pointed to local decisions on pavement parking, school streets and place-based street design as areas where councils and mayors are better placed to judge local need, while Active Travel England provides national standards and support. In practice, ministers are signalling that delivery should sit locally, but with stronger national expectations on quality and continuity.
The government also restated a measurable target: at least 60% of children should be walking and cycling to school by 2035. Ministers linked that target to an agreement with mayors to deliver 3,500 miles of footways, safer crossings and cycle lanes, alongside pilot work on wayfinding ahead of a more consistent national Active Travel Network. The test for local schemes is therefore moving beyond headline mileage to whether everyday short trips feel safe, legible and direct for families.
Manchester was presented as the main delivery example. The Secretary cited 700 million active travel trips in Greater Manchester last year and argued that the Bee Network shows how active travel can be folded into a wider transport offer rather than treated as a separate policy stream. The reference to schemes such as Oxford Road and the Chorlton Cycle Way was used to support a straightforward claim: when protected and connected routes are built, regular use follows.
The £104 million announcement is specifically aimed at maintaining and expanding the 12,000-mile National Cycle Network. The Department for Transport said the money will fund bridge repairs, updated signage and new routes around the High Speed Two corridor, which makes the package as much about asset condition as expansion. The Department also tied active travel to lower congestion, stronger high streets, better public health and safer street environments, showing how ministers now want it judged across transport, health and place outcomes.
Taken together, the Manchester speech amounts to a delivery brief for the next phase of active travel policy. Councils, combined authorities and delivery bodies are being asked to treat walking, wheeling and cycling as part of mainstream transport provision, backed by longer-term devolved funding and measured against practical results in streets, schools and town centres. For local government, the direction of travel is now clear: active travel is expected to move from programme edge to network standard.