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The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking (APPGCW) is launching an inquiry to explore social justice issues related to active travel in the UK.
The inquiry (which is supported by British Cycling and Leigh Day) will investigate barriers that prevent equitable access to cycling, walking and wheeling, with the aim of understanding how infrastructure, policy, and social factors influence who benefits from active travel and who remains excluded.
This evidence will help shape recommendations to make active travel accessible and appealing to all communities.
Despite active travel’s well-documented benefits for health, environment, and community wellbeing, disparities exist in who can fully enjoy these advantages.
Physical barriers, such as inaccessible footways or unsuitable cycling infrastructure, financial obstacles, and social perceptions can prevent certain groups from engaging in active travel.
The APPGCW aims to address these issues and invites insights from experts, advocates, and members of the public.
The inquiry seeks evidence on topics including:
Groups currently excluded from active travel and the reasons for this exclusion.
How factors like poverty, disability, and local infrastructure impact active travel access and safety.
Successful initiatives, in the UK or internationally, that have improved inclusivity in active travel.
Actions, policies, or resources that could help overcome barriers to active travel for all, whether through infrastructure, funding, or community engagement.
Fabian Hamilton MP, co-chair of the APPGCW, said: ‘’The many individual and societal benefits of active travel are both well documented and researched. From public health to air pollution, many of the challenges that we face today could be tackled in part by seeing an increase in the number of people cycling, walking and wheeling.
‘’Sadly, there remain many barriers in place to ensuring that people from all backgrounds have equitable access to these methods of transport.
“This inquiry will look at why that is, and provide insight on how we can begin to remove some of those barriers. I look forward to working with a diverse and wide group of contributors to deliver this important inquiry.’’
The inquiry will seek written evidence, and hold an in-person evidence session on Monday, December 9, in Parliament.
Individuals and organisations with insights or experience related to these themes have also been invited by the APPGCW to share their accounts.
This inquiry will have an advisory board (of between five and eight members) which, as far as possible will represent the range of work being done at present in the UK to widen participation in active travel.
The members’ main role will be to give their views on the principal findings of the investigation and resultant recommendations.
For more information on how to submit evidence, click here.
