ATE at the Transport Select Committee

Active Travel England (ATE) appeared in Parliament at the Transport Select Committee today. ATE were represented by National Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman and Deputy Chief Executive Graham Grant.

This was a 2-hour session, and I have picked out only the most interesting (in my view) points which were made.

ATE was set up in mid-2022, and now has around 90 staff.

Capability Ratings

Chris Boardman highlighted ATE’s system of capability ratings, where schemes and funding are tailored to a local authority’s ability to deliver schemes.

He said this had resulted in halving the delivery time of schemes, because councils are delivering what they are capable of delivering. (North Yorkshire Council has delivered nothing).

ATE gives a programme of support to local authorities with low ratings.

Walking vs Cycling

Boardman said that the average walking journey is 0.8 of a mile, after which it becomes less convenient because it takes too much time.

The average cycling trip is 3.8 miles.

Walking is an easy win, and good for getting people from doing nothing to doing something. Cycling is more vigorous, and so has greater health benefits.

The 3.8 miles of a cycling trip means you can increase the catchment for public transport twenty-fold.

Quality of Design

It is very important to provide whole active travel routes, rather than leaving out difficult junctions. ATE’s principle as far as their funding is concerned is ‘do it all or don’t bother’. Funding should be refused for schemes with gaps in them.

Research that ATE has done compares ‘painted white line then stop at a junction’ with ‘building to LTN 1/20 standard’. It shows that building the old way increases the risks for people using the infrastructure, and does not increase uptake.

Doing it properly leads to 60%+ increase in uptake and a halving of KSIs.

Behaviour change programmes only work alongside changes to the built environment.

Routine Maintenance

When doing road resurfacing, local authorities should not be putting in place lines and signs that don’t meet current guidance.

Making the Case for Active Travel

Boardman said that arguments about the macro financial benefits of active travel (saves the NHS billions, etc) don’t resonate with people.

It’s better to talk about transport independence for children, or using a double buggy on a pavement.

Side Street Junctions

Small interventions that could make a big difference include tightening the kerb radii of side street junctions, and putting in zebra crossings to reinforce the Highway Code priority of people crossing them.

Disability

ATE take disability into account in the design guidance and toolkits they publish, so that accessibility and inclusivity is embedded in them. ATE staff are also trained in inclusivity.

Rural Areas

ATE are working on a bridging document which would show how the principles of LTN 1/20 should be applied to more rural areas.

CWIS and Funding

If ATE is to improve walking and cycling facilities equitably, including rural areas rather than just focusing on towns and cities, it will cost about twice as much as it would otherwise.

ATE are still working to the targets in CWIS2 (50% of trips in towns and cities walked or cycled by 2030), although their funding was severely cut by the Sunak government.

CWIS3 is expected in March 2025. The Spending Review will determine the funding available.

London has had 10 years of consistent funding for cycling, and cycling has increased there. That is not true of other areas, which explains why cycling has not increased overall.

The funding model for active travel is now going to change with devolution, to be based on regions. Regions will have more discretion about how they spend their money, but there will be rules on outcomes which must be achieved.

Planning

ATE have been fairly cautious in their comments on planning applications to date, as they haven’t wanted to alienate developers by ruining their designs at a late stage. ATE are considering how they can influence designs at an earlier, pre-planning application stage.

The new NPPF provides the opportunity to improve off-site active travel infrastructure, and perhaps reduce the money spent on widening off-site junctions.