Active Travel

New research has found that last year UK fire services attended almost three fires a day linked to lithium-ion batteries, which are now common in electric vehicles, bikes and scooters.

The transport secretary has pledged to back councils that implement low traffic neighbourhoods and 20mph limits, with the new government ‘absolutely determined’ to end the Tories’ ‘culture wars’ approach.

Scotland's finance secretary, Shona Robison, has announced spending cuts of £500m in the current financial year, with spending on sustainable and active travel badly hit.

A cycling charity has called for the transport secretary’s statement that she wants ‘unprecedented levels’ of investment in cycling to be turned into firm spending commitments in the Autumn Budget.

Chris Ames visits Paris 2024 by public transport, swims in a Bruges canal, and lives to tell the tale.

A new guide inviting people to discover the ‘rich tapestry of engineering wonders and history that are woven above, below and across’ the streets of London has been launched.

Transport for London has completed major improvements to Tolworth Roundabout In southwest London, which it said will reduce congestion and make walking and cycling easier.

Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman and National Infrastructure Commission deputy chair Julia Prescot are among the top names from the sector recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours.

Limited funding and inadequate data are major barriers to road safety planning and measurement, local authorities have reported.

The Government has given Hammersmith and Fulham council nearly £3m to provide a new cycle lane on Hammersmith Bridge but funding for a £250m permanent repair appears to have stalled.

Greening projects designed to complement new active travel routes in Liverpool will be funded by a European climate grant worth almost £80,000.

Newcastle City Council has agreed to move a set of barriers after a disabled cyclist raised concerns that the design constituted indirect discrimination as it blocked his access to a cycle path.

A new active travel route from Birmingham to Coventry along the HS2 line is a ‘no brainer’, West Midlands mayor Andy Street has said.

Transport for London (TfL) has announced up to £80.4m for boroughs to improve public transport, make walking and cycling safer and create new school streets.

A new report has highlighted the extent and toxicity of abuse experienced by women cycling in London.

A new study has highlighted the importance of good pavements and slower traffic in helping older people get outdoors more.

The Government is not on track to meet its active travel targets, with funding uncertainty hampering councils’ efforts, the Public Accounts Committee has said.

Active Travel England is considering introducing new guidance for councils that could increase the amount of time people have to cross the road.

The funding allocations for the 11 local authorities taking part in a £13.9m walking and cycling prescription trial have been announced.

Sustrans has launched what it calls a ‘breakthrough tool’ that uniquely analyses localised data on public behaviours and attitudes towards walking and cycling.

The Government is not on track to meet its targets to increase cycling and walking and should consider whether they remain achievable, Parliament’s spending watchdog has said.

Active Travel England has officially been made a statutory consultee on all large-scale planning applications.

Campaigners have threatened ministers with legal action over the decision to slash spending on walking and cycling for the last two years of the current Parliament.

The Department for Transport has announced allocations for the £200m fourth (2022-23) round of the Active Travel Fund and revealed that it had blocked all low traffic neighbourhood (LTNs) schemes from the funding.

E-scooter provider Zwings has announced it is pulling out of Sunderland due to repeated acts of vandalism.

The Isle of Wight Council has pushed back against suggestions that it should ban cyclists from a popular coastal path, despite concerns over the number of crashes.

Walking charity Living Streets has launched a new campaign calling for reduced waiting times for pedestrians at signal-controlled crossings.

The Department for Transport has unveiled its latest tranche of active travel funding with £200m up for grabs for English councils.

Active Travel England has announced £32.9m to support local authorities train staff on the design of active travel schemes and drive behaviour change.

Transport for London has published a report that it says shows a ‘continued boom’ in walking and cycling in the capital, with cycling levels remaining 40% higher than before the pandemic.

Ian Hind, commercial director at AGD Systems, asks whether the unprecedented spike in cycling and walking during the pandemic has created a giant and permanent leap forward towards a more active world.

England’s chief medical officer, Sir Chris Whitty, has been appointed to a new advisory panel for Active Travel England alongside three other expert advisers.

A key industry figure has slammed the Government and councils over their ‘failure’ to maintain the surge in cycling levels seen during the first year of the pandemic.

Eleven local authority areas are set to receive £12.7m between them to trial giving GPs the power to prescribe walking, wheeling and cycling to boost the physical and mental health of residents.

Cycling groups have hit back at comments from Grant Shapps in which he suggested that speed limits should apply to cyclists and ‘proposed’ a review into issues of insurance and how to track cyclists who break the law.

Ministers have confirmed the permanent appointment of Chris Boardman as England’s active travel commissioner and announced a raft of appointments to lead Active Travel England.

A national cycling charity has called on employers to do more to encourage active travel to help workers with the increasing transport costs.

A free planning tool to help local authorities make active travel safer and less stressful for users has been launched by the Road Safety Foundation.

Ministers have announced £200m for new active travel cycling schemes across England.

Environmental activists have invited West London residents to imagine the ‘fantastic possibilities that could be in store’ if Hammersmith Bridge remained permanently closed to motor traffic.

Cycling campaigners have accused a local highway authority of ‘robbing’ residents of sustainable transport options by re-opening a bridge underpass in Poole to rat-running motor traffic.

Glasgow City Council has approved unfunded plans to build a City Network of active travel infrastructure priced at nearly half a billion pounds.

Sustrans appear to be fighting a losing battle in its attempts to remove barriers from the National Cycle Network (NCN), having removed just over 100 a year since 2018 towards an ambition of removing 16,000 by 2040.

Stabilisation works under the Hammersmith Bridge Restoration Project will start this month, Hammersmith & Fulham Council has announced.

Our intrepid deputy editor tries out an e-scooter, as part of a legal rental scheme in Nottingham.

Campaigners claim to have 'drawn a line in the sand' after a highway authority admitted it acted unlawfully when it decided to remove a popular cycle lane in November 2020.

Former Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman is to become national commissioner of the Government’s new cycling and walking body, Active Travel England, which launches on Monday.

The Government has published two key documents that aim to improve disabled people’s mobility and safety while travelling.

London mayor Sadiq Khan, has warned that the capital ‘could move from one public health and economy crisis to another’ as City Hall put the cost of congestion in the city at over £5bn a year.

Transport for London (TfL) has unveiled plans for a major extension to west London’s Cycleway 9 route between Brentford and Hounslow.

The Government has confirmed the release of £35m of Local Growth Fund cash for a park and ride scheme and walking, cycling and bus improvements on the A40 in Oxfordshire, which it described as part of ‘plans to build back greener from the pandemic’.

A new hierarchy of road users, where those who can do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility, has been included in changes to the Highways Code now laid before Parliament.

Greater Manchester’s mayor and transport commissioner have written to the transport secretary seeking permission for a mass trial of zebra markings at side roads after new evidence showed that they lead to a 65% increase in drivers giving way.

Major changes to the Highway Code that would introduce a new hierarchy of road users to give extra protection for cyclists could be brought in by spring next year, Transport Network understands.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has suggested there will be changes to the £100bn HS2 plans, with the eastern leg to Leeds likely to dropped or severely delayed.

The Scottish Government has published new guidance for cycling infrastructure, covering design and the wider planning context to support better, safer active travel.

Parliamentarians have called for a new Highways Act and significantly increasing funding to achieve the levels of active travel needed to support decarbonisation targets.

Cycling UK has won the right to challenge a council’s decision to remove a popular cycle lane after a High Court ruling refusing permission for a judicial review was overturned.

Local authorities are fighting to keep on top of the maintenance needs of public rights of way alongside a backdrop of increased public expectations, council place directors have said.

A major local government insurer has called for local authority pothole funding to give greater focus to cycle paths and footways to protect cyclists and e-scooter riders.

Harrow Council’s cabinet has decided to remove two of three Transport for London Streetspace schemes designed to support people to socially distance and encourage active travel during lockdown.

Network Rail must develop a long-term plan for electrification or risk continued increased costs, patchy delivery and projects 'from hell', chairman Sir Peter Hendy has said.

Living Streets is urging London mayoral candidates to ‘put walking first’ to tackle illegal levels of air pollution.

Local authorities will be able to offer bespoke Bikeability Family training sessions to help people feel more confident cycling.

The Government is to draw up a second Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, having already fallen behind on the prime minister’s pledge of £2bn central government funding during the current Parliament.

Senior councillors in a London borough are to meet without the relevant lead member to discuss the possible reinstatement of controversial cycle lanes.

A national cycling charity has accused the Government of hiding evidence from Parliament by suppressing a report that shows more money is needed to meet its flagship cycling target.

London mayor Sadiq Khan and Transport for London have announced that construction work on four ‘trial’ cycling infrastructure projects will start this month.

London mayor Sadiq Khan has called on a borough council to reinstate protected cycle lanes on a main road after research found that a majority of local residents support them.

A cycling charity is taking legal action against a council’s decision to scrap a pop-up cycle lane introduced during lockdown.

More than 10,000 people have signed an online petition objecting to Highways England’s plans to infill or demolish more than 100 disused railway bridges, which campaigners say could be needed for new rail or active travel routes.

A £19m package of cycling schemes in Cornwall risks going significantly over budget and missing what is already a revised delivery date, auditors have warned.

Environmental campaigners have called on local authorities to cancel spending on road building and redirect funds to boost public transport and active travel.

Transport for London has unveiled a new online tool that it said will enable organisations and the public to see the level of road casualties in the capital.

How can behavioural insights help us clean up transport decision-making?

Labour-controlled unitary authorities in England are more likely to implement Conservative government policy supporting cycling, new research has found.

Kensington and Chelsea council is to remove a temporary cycle lane after bowing to pressure from local businesses.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has announced councils' allocations for the £175m second tranche of the Active Travel Fund.

West Sussex County Council is set to remove pop-up cycle lanes just as England enters a new lockdown, arguing that they are no longer needed with traffic volumes having increased.

Councils have been forced to scrap emergency active travel schemes due to a small but vocal number of objections, Cycling UK has warned.

Chief executive of the Campaign for Better Transport, Darren Shirley, argues there is a chance for real change in transport and we can't afford to let it slip by.

Bath and North East Somerset Council is set to extend 20mph limits to some of the main routes in and out of Bath for the first time.

Active travel charity Sustrans Cymru has appointed Christine Boston as its new director.

The Government will be making £2m available to help encourage children to walk or cycle to school.

Bus ridership in Scotland has fallen to its lowest modal share since comparable records began.

Transport planning professionals and campaigners have launched a poster competition for primary school children to promote environmentally friendly ways to travel to school.

Bidding is open to local authorities in England for a portion of at least £2m in the latest tranche of cash for air quality projects.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has come under fire after claiming that local authorities were ‘abusing’ cash for improving road layouts for pedestrians and cyclists.

The Scottish Government has cut its match funding requirement for permanent active travel infrastructure after giving councils nearly £39m for pop-up physical distancing schemes.

Transport for West Midlands has announced plans for a cycle hire scheme for the entire region as part of a £260m investment and rebrand of its '500-mile cycling vision'.

New official statistics have highlighted the challenge facing ministers in increasing active travel, with the distance people in England walked and cycled both falling last year.

Local government place directors have launched a policy paper calling for active travel to be empowered by new motoring charges.

Transport for London has hailed ‘a successful decade of cycle hire in the capital’, ten years on from the launch of the flagship scheme officially known as Santander Cycles.

The Welsh Government has announced £38m ‘to make Wales a safer place to cycle, scoot and walk’.

A transport minister has described e-scooters as an ‘active’ form of travel, despite fears that their introduction could see a reduction in walking and cycling.

Devon County Council will be using a commercial running and cycling app to help prioritise roads investment, after approving an increase in highway spending of over 50% for this year.

Local authorities will be given the power to use CCTV to fine drivers who misuse mandatory cycle lanes, the Government has announced.

Engineering professional services consultancy WSP has developed new user guidance for the updated Active Mode Appraisal Toolkit on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Liverpool City Council is set to deliver a £4m fund for up to 65 miles of pop-up cycle lanes along seven key routes across the city.

The Government has pledged to release £250m to councils for the reallocation of road space to active travel 'within weeks', as part of a wider multi-billion pound package, backed by statutory guidance.

Transport Scotland has re-allocated £10m to pay for 'pop-up walking and cycling routes or temporary improvements to existing routes' in order to support social distancing.

Local authorities including Manchester City Council are considering more long-term moves to restrict car use in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

Only one in 10 local authorities are meeting their own target times to fix potholes and other road defects, new research has revealed today.

Campaigners have complained that the Government has ducked its responsibilities in active travel in the 2020 Budget.

London mayor Sadiq Khan claims to have met a pledge to triple the amount of protected space for cycling in the capital during his tenure – but only once cycle routes under construction are included.

The Government has pledged a £5bn, five-year bus and cycling fund to support simpler fares, thousands of new buses, higher service frequencies, and 250 miles of new cycle paths.

Walking and cycling charity Sustrans has adapted computer aided design software to help planners design streets that work better for non-standard cycles.

The South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) is to provide £7.1m for the construction of a £12m underpass below a railway line in Grays town centre in Essex.

A cycling-on-prescription scheme trialled in West Yorkshire has proved so successful that it is now ready to be rolled out across the UK, according to its local government funders.

The new Highbury Corner junction has officially opened after what Transport for London (TfL) described as a transformation ‘from one of London's most intimidating roundabouts into a junction that is much safer and more welcoming for people’.

Satisfaction with public transport in Scotland has dropped by 10 percentage points over the past four years, while levels of walking have also fallen, official statistics show.

Transport for London (TfL) is set to take forward plans to lower speed limits on its roads across central London.

Leeds City Council has announced that triathlete and double Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee MBE will be the city's first Active Travel ambassador.

The Department for Transport has published guidance to help councils apply for a share of nearly £350m to improve local roads.

People are walking more often than three years ago but the number of cycling trips has stagnated, according to new official statistics which show that ministers are still struggling to meet a key active travel target.

London's City Hall has sent a message to councils that try to block segregated cycle lanes and upgrades to pedestrian crossings, by considering ways to grab control of local roads.

MPs have criticised the Government for inadequate and ‘piecemeal’ active travel investment and called for a dedicated funding stream for local walking and cycling.

Transport for London (TfL) has announced it has collected data on every street in London to create 'the world's largest database of cycling infrastructure'.

The Scottish Government has announced ‘record’ funding of up to £51m for walking and cycling infrastructure in 2019.

Cycling and walking advocates from England and Scotland have called for minimum quality standards for infrastructure to prevent public money being wasted on the ineffective ‘gesture’ of paint-only cycle lanes.

A cycling and walking charity has warned that women and older and disabled people ‘continue to be neglected in cycling’, despite anti-discrimination provisions in the Equality Act 2010.

Walking and cycling charity Sustrans has made a raft of senior appointments across the UK and Ireland, including its first ‘director of urbanism’.

A new £1m fund to encourage people from deprived communities to walk and cycle is now available for social landlords in Scotland.

The Department for Transport has announced £23m to ‘rejuvenate’ cycling and walking across the UK.

Transport minister Jesse Norman has warned that ‘we have no time to lose’ as emerging technologies bring the chance to mitigate the mixed legacy of the 20th century motoring boom.

Thousands of life-threatening illnesses could be prevented if major cities increased cycling rates to those seen in London since the turn of the millennium.

Local authorities should prioritise pedestrians and cyclists when planning new roads, a national health body has said.

London mayor Sadiq Khan has unveiled a new Cycling Action Plan that aims to create a unified, London-wide cycle network while doubling cycling journeys in six years.

A national cycling charity has called for an ‘overhaul’ of the UK’s cycle network, a move it argues could help add nearly £8bn to the economy.

Campaigners have welcomed confirmation that planned revisions to the Highway Code will include new measures to promote cycle and pedestrian safety, including the ‘Dutch reach’ method of opening car doors to avoid hitting cyclists.

The Department for Transport has provided some clarification as to how its £2m funding will encourage the take up of e-cargo delivery bikes.

Bristol City Council has published a draft transport strategy that includes a mass transit scheme, as well as possible congestion and workplace parking charges.

The Scottish Government has acknowledged it must work harder to develop a sustainable transport network after its attempts to persuade people to leave their cars at home made little impact.

Campaigners have seized on new statistics showing that Government promises of increased cycling and walking are failing to materialise, partly because three in five people do not feel safe cycling on the roads.

Local authorities paid out more than £2m in compensation over the past year to pedestrians who have tripped on poorly maintained pavements.

London has announced its first Walking Action Plan which aims to encourage an extra million walking trips every day and make London ‘the most walkable city in the world’.

Campaigners have accused the public company building the HS2 rail link of reneging on legally binding commitments made by the Government to ensure cycle safety, ‘putting lives at risk and costing the taxpayer more’.

Ten active travel proposals from eight Scottish councils have each been awarded an initial £50,000 under the first phase of a multi-million pound competition.

Dr Andrew Grieve, head of the Walking and Cycling Unit in the Department for Infrastructure, (DfI) Northern Ireland, tells readers how the 'must visit' city of Belfast is moving ahead with developing active and sustainable transport on a broad front.

Transport planners in Cambridge are launching ‘innovative’ journey planning tools using real-time data to help people make more sustainable journeys.

Six councils have successfully bid for a share of a £6.5m fund aimed at making cycling ‘the natural choice’ of transport.

The UK Roads Liaison Group (UKRLG) has published a suite of documents to support asset management associated with footways and cycle routes.

Campaigners have called for local transport planning in Scotland to be reinvigorated by the devolution of both responsibilities and ‘ample’ national resources to local level.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has appointed WSP to revise and update its cycling infrastructure design guidance.

Plans to ban traffic from Oxford Street in London have been rejected by Westminster Council, putting the scheme in jeopardy.

Amey has begun work on a £5.4m project in Birmingham to deliver a 4km two-way, fully segregated cycle route linking Selly Oak and the University of Birmingham with the city centre.

Local authorities should improve the quality of footpaths to encourage people to be more active, a public health body has said.

Transport for London (TfL) has denied that it intends to sell the Emirates Air Line cable car after the capital’s transport commissioner was reported as stating that he would be prepared to do so.

Four councils in Wales have been told to resubmit their active travel plans by 27 August after the Welsh Government rejected their first attempts.

A key industry body has said that the Government’s announcement of £7m to promote safe cycling fails to address the fundamental safety issue of potholes and deteriorating road surfaces.

Ministers are inviting eight English cities to bid for a share of £6.5m to improve safety for cyclists as part of the Government’s controversial cycle safety review.

Highways England has extended the deadline for people to object to its proposal to ban cycling on a section of the A63 in Yorkshire on safety grounds, following a huge number of responses.

National charity Cycling UK has backed walking and cycling campaigners Sustrans in a row over plans to run a new light rail link alongside a walking and cycling route between Bath and Bristol.

Mansfield's District Council has relaxed its 24-hour ban on cycling in the town centre, which it said was introduced ‘to tackle anti-social cycling at busy times’.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced six new cycle routes that will run across nine London boroughs.

More than 12,000 premature deaths and close to £10bn would be saved over 10 years if England and Scotland reached their walking and cycling goals, a transport charity claims.

The Government has confirmed funding totalling £30m for councils to improve road and cycle safety in towns and villages along the HS2 route between London and the West Midlands.

Local authorities should ensure they have strong policies in place requiring active travel connectivity in new developments to address a mismatch between their goals and those of developers, a think tank has said.

The former Coalition Government’s flagship £540m Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) was successful in achieving its objectives, according to a new report.

Congestion in Scotland fell slightly last year, despite a 2% increase in car traffic, while the number of bus passengers fell by nearly 4%.

London mayor Sadiq Khan has announced plans for a new segregated cycle superhighway in west London.

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on bringing in low emission zones (LEZs) as part of clean air plans that also include a target to phase out ‘the need for’ petrol and diesel vehicles by 2032.

A new survey has revealed strong backing for measures to improve road safety and increasing support for both sustainable modes of travel and car use.

The latest statistics on travel trends in England show a continuing fall in the total number of journeys people are making, including a slight drop in trips – and distance travelled - by car.

Transport for London has yet to complete a programme to resurface large stretches of two Cycle Superhighways (CSH) that it found to be ‘deteriorating’ nearly a year ago, including a section where a motorcyclist had been killed.

How are new housing estates being built with so much expectation that residents will use their cars that they lack footways?

The new Queensferry Crossing across the Forth will finally open at the end of August, the Scottish Government has announced.

The world’s largest bike-sharing company has announced that it is launching a ‘European first’ cycle hire scheme in central Manchester and Salford this month.

A group of MPs has warned that the justice system is failing to protect cyclists, resulting in ‘a feeling of lawlessness and aggression’ that deters people from taking to two wheels.

Ministers have published a new Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS) setting out £1.2bn of funding, including nearly £900m that they expect councils and Local Enterprise Partnerships to spend over the next five years.

People in Northern Ireland would walk more regularly if the weather was better, according to a new survey that also found that the majority of workers drive to work on their own.

Transport for London (TfL) has ‘challenged’ app designers to improve their services to cyclists after expanding the data it makes available to them.

Leeds City Council has secured £6.5m Government spending, which it plans to spend on extending its cycle superhighway scheme.

A new report identifies the need for a strategic approach to sustainable transport projects that focuses on what can realistically be delivered.

Ministers have announced the winners – and losers – of a pot of £64m for sustainable transport, with two bidders scooping around £7m each.

Council leaders in Scotland have pledged to play a ‘huge role’ to encourage the growth of cycling, following the devolved Government’s promise of a more ‘ambitious and innovative’ approach, underpinned by partnership working.

London mayor Sadiq Khan has announced plans to build two new cycle superhighways and a cycling bridge over the Thames under proposals to spend 'a record' £770m on active travel.

The end may be in sight for the ‘most-delayed journey’ that is Heathrow expansion, but we take a trip back(wards) in time. From the (very) late sixties to the fifth century BC, here are our Top 5 great journeys from history.

A new electric bike scheme will launch in Exeter this week with 23 bikes funded by a national Government competition.

From time to time, a new way of getting around takes off, so to speak, and people find new – but not necessarily appropriate – ways of using our transportation systems. Here are our Top 5 transport crazes.

Cycling campaigners have criticised the Department for Transport’s (DfT) new THINK! advertisement on cycle safety, with an Olympic cycling legend calling it ‘desperately misguided’.

Work will begin next week on a new ‘Eco Expressway’ in Nottingham, giving priority to buses, bikes and ultra low emission vehicles.

Britain leaving the European Union (EU) presents a threat to the creation of new Active Travel infrastructure, according to a leading sustainability campaigner – but could also be an opportunity.

Transport bosses from the country’s biggest city regions have set out a route map for what an effective relationship with Government should look like, including prompt enactment of the Bus Services Bill, more stable funding and tougher action on toxic air.

Construction is about to begin on the first part of Enfield Council’s controversial £42m cycle improvements scheme, one of Transport for London’s (TfL) ‘mini-Holland’ projects.

People in England are making fewer trips every year but travelled slightly further last year than in 2014, according to new statistics.

Top cyclists have written to the prime minister asking her to create ‘a legacy of everyday cycling’ as the extension of London's north-south cycle superhighway gets the go-ahead.

Cyclists in Glasgow are set to benefit from city council plans to more than double its mass automated cycle hire (MACH) scheme.

A major phase in the transformation of Manchester’s Oxford Road begins next week, with plans for new bus lanes and stops along with segregated cycle lanes and ‘Dutch-style’ bike bypasses to separate cyclists from buses.

Gloucestershire CC has teamed up with Highways England to help finance a preparatory study that could lead to a £3.5m cycle superhighway between Gloucester and Cheltenham.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) has launched a three-month consultation on its plans for the region’s transport systems.

Sustrans, the charity that created the National Cycle Network, has published Britain’s first ever handbook on how to manage traffic-free cycle and walking routes – or ‘greenways’ – for both people and wildlife.

Local authority cycling delivery needs better monitoring, potentially including a self-assessment procedure similar to the one launched for local roads, an expert has said.

The number of people cycling at least once per month fell slightly in 2014/15, despite long-term Government targets to achieve an increase.

Ministers have announced a new £60m revenue competition aimed primarily at boosting walking and cycling.

Residents in the South Yorkshire town of Rotherham are being encouraged ‘to re-discover the joy and convenience of cycling’…by using electric bikes.

Dundee City Council is proposing to spend at least 5% of its annual roads and transportation budget on cycling as it aims to double the number of journeys made by bike in five years.

Progress in improving links between transport and health is being held back by a lack of national and local coordination, according to a new report.

The Department for Transport has denied a Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) claim that its bid for sustainable transport funding failed because it does not have a devolution deal.

Local authorities across the country have been awarded nearly £21m of revenue funding to support cycling, walking and public transport schemes.

London Labour MP Kate Hoey has written to the head of the National Audit Office (NAO) to demand a full review of the controversial Garden Bridge and for the project to be halted in the meantime.

The gap year may have become a bit less fashionable these days, and no one in their right mind still uses the phrase 'trying to find myself' unless they really are completely lost. However travelling is still one of great joys of life. So for anyone without plans for the weekend, here are our top five epic trips.

The health benefits of walking and cycling outweigh the negative effects of poor air quality, even in cities like London with high levels of air pollution, according to a new study.

Independent travel by children is falling and often actively discouraged, leaving children 'neglected in transport provision', a new report argues.

New road schemes still dominate Local Enterprise Partnerships' (LEPs) spending plans for the coming year, campaigners have said.

Cycling campaigners have slammed the Government’s investment strategy for cycling and walking as ‘a desperate attempt by officials to big up the pittance made available by ministers’.

The Government has released its draft national cycling and walking strategy, causing campaigners to raise concerns over a 'mystifying' lack of targets.

Transport minister Andrew Jones has tacitly acknowledged there can be little guarantee of the £500m capital funding promised for local sustainable transport schemes over this parliament.

Transport for London (TfL) spending on cycling will fall to £31m by 2021/22, according to figures obtained by the Green Party’s Darren Johnson.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has launched a one-year £20m fund to help councils support sustainable and accessible travel projects.

The Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association (LTDA) has lost a judicial review that sought to halt construction of London mayor Boris Johnson’s flagship east-west cycle superhighway.

Local government has been told that the needs of disabled motorists should be borne in mind during implementation of the Active Travel (Wales) Act.

The introduction of cyber technology into transport networks brings new and significant risks and operators of intelligent transport systems (ITS) should do more to maintain their security, a new report warns.

Highways England is delivering 200 projects across the country over the next five years as part of a £100m cycling investment. The 40 schemes that have now begun are set to be completed by this spring.

Figures for active travel in Wales show it has a long way to go to become a 'walking and cycling nation', a minister has warned, despite the country being an international leader in legislation.

Highways England is poised to announce the first schemes that will benefit from its newly issued Cycling Strategy, which commits £100m of ring-fenced cash to 200 projects between now and 2021.

UK local authorities have until 16 January 2016 to become the first in the country to join a key EU cycling and walking scheme.

One of the first completed consultations under the pioneering Active Travel (Wales) Act has revealed doubts and technical difficulties over the suitability of existing paths.

Scotland should bring in road tolling 'to meet the financial demands of constructing and maintaining good quality roads infrastructure', according to the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Jon Masters takes a look at the history and future of smart motorways.

UK motorists are now more worried about the dangers of distraction from technology and social media than those of drink-driving, according to the Institute of Advanced Motorist’s (IAM) first major survey into safety behaviour.

69% of Tyne and Wear bus users have demanded a Transport for London (TfL)-style operation for their local services, in a poll run by the local Chronicle newspaper, after the regional Quality Contract Scheme board decided this week to reject the proposal

Transport for London (TfL) has completed an initial deployment of digital average speed enforcement cameras along the A40 in London, with 50 Siemens SafeZone ANPR units in position at 24 sites.

Imaginative entrepreneurs and startups have until 24 November 2015 to bid for a share of £140,000 of funding

British city dwellers want councils to spend an average of £26 per person every year on cycling according to campaigners, following what is thought to be the nation's largest ever cycle survey.

Transport for London has announced a three-year extendable contract with Catalunya, Spain-headquartered TSS-Transport Simulation Systems to install the company's Aimsun traffic modelling and prediction system across the city.

Campaigners have warned of a potential widespread loss of local footpaths, suggesting many councils will take a similar two-tier approach to pathway maintenance as they do for roads.

The £3m Great Glen Cycleway in Scotland has been unveiled, marking the completion of the last leg of the National Cycle Network Route 78 known as the Caledonia Way.

The head of one of the largest highways services companies in Europe has delivered a tough message to the sector that it can and must improve, in a speech designed to help both the private and public sector get better value from contracts.

Ministers have announced the winners of a £700,000 electric bike competition.

A political agenda that is actually in contrast to economic sense is now driving decisions concerning funding for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) and devolution, the former chair of the LEP network has claimed.

The head of highways in East Sussex, Roger Williams, has explained how his council underwent a 'cultural journey' of transformation to radically improve its customer services.

Highways England’s (HE) executive director of network delivery and development David Brewer has given a clear indication of a change of culture underway at the new Government-owned company.

Current vehicle emission tests, of the kind that have recently plunged Volkswagen into scandal in the US for making false claims about engine performance levels, are already ‘outdated’

The Government is seeking to limit the length of roadworks sites to reduce frustration for road users, yet motorists say the solution lies in better planning.

Local government compliance with the pioneering Active Travel (Wales) Act is 'heavily dependent on funding' due to the Act's high route maintenance standards, a council has warned.

Around £50bn must be urgently invested in northern infrastructure if the Government is to close the economic divide with the south, a think tank has said.

Failure to assess infrastructure priorities beyond their cost could leave the UK at a ‘competitive disadvantage’, sector leaders have warned, as calls mount for transport devolution deals.

The overall condition of Welsh roads has improved over the past year, with Flintshire holding the lowest percentage of routes in a ‘poor’ state – a report has revealed.

The Government should press ahead with current plans to increase to 75 the age at which motorists must self-certify themselves as fit to drive, according to transport experts TRL.

Transport experts have welcomed the launch of a taskforce to tackle ‘pointless’ road signs, yet warn current problems focus on authorities ignoring existing laws.

More councils will consider cashless-only parking ticket machines as introduction of the new £1 coin in 2017 approaches, according to a parking expert.

Drivers of large vehicles could soon be forced to cut down on left turns and avoid popular cycling routes in London, mayor Boris Johnson has announced.

Firm WJ has been appointed delivery partner for 3M speed cameras in a deal that will see it installing systems at roadworks across the UK.

Transport for London (TfL) is facing a legal challenge from taxi drivers over disruption caused during construction of the Embankment Cycle Superhighway.

Westminster City Council is set to launch a series of videos offering practical advice on cycle safety, as part of a campaign to boost the take up of the free safety courses the authority offers.

A man in Wiltshire has built a convincing replica of a speed camera in an attempt to stop drivers hurtling through his quiet village.

Top pedestrian charity, Living Streets, celebrates Birmingham's ambitious public realm plans first revealed by Transport Network.

A groundbreaking demonstration project and feasibility study into ‘total transport’ is already yielding tens of thousands of pounds of savings and providing a new model for local delivery, according to its designer.

Unions have warned that a planned Government overhaul of transport strike laws will hit ‘the democratic heart of this country’.

A London borough has moved a step closer to 20mph limits following local approval of council plans, despite fears of low voter turnout.

Recommendations that a third runway be built at Heathrow on the condition of stricter noise and environmental demands have failed to assuage concerns in local government.

Westminster City Council has unveiled plans for a network of quiet cycleways linking key destinations in the heart of London.

The number of people in England walking regularly has 'significantly increased' over the last couple of years but cycling numbers have remained static, according to the latest Department for Transport statistics.

Local bus passenger journeys have climbed 0.4% in London in year ending March 2015, while use in the rest of England has decreased by 0.5% compared to last year.

Road toll operators using electronic free flow tolling are being exposed to significant financial risk due to difficulties in identifying the owners of foreign vehicles, research suggests.

A third of all car journeys are delayed by road works, with the number of unfinished council maintenance projects climbing by a fifth – research reveals

London Underground workers have until 30 June to decide whether they will strike over pay and safety concerns linked to all night services.

Vale of Glamorgan Council has won an award for the latest piece in its county-wide active travel jigsaw puzzle.

A list of non-negotiable safeguards for rail passengers have been established by Kent County Council during talks with Transport for London (TfL) over proposed transfer of some south east services

More than double the expected sum has been raised by the Government’s levy on foreign-registered HGVs using UK roads.

House building projects risk descending the road network into gridlock if public transport planning doesn’t significantly improve, a report has warned.

The Local Government Association has released a detailed survey into the state of active travel among councils.

Cities have today been urged to improve support for walking and cycling, after research found urban areas with physically active residents are more economically competitive.

A £4.2m scheme to transform Black Country canal towpaths into cycling and walking routes through areas steeped in industrial history is set to be delivered.

Lawyers have urged Edinburgh Council to act before an ‘inevitable’ cyclist fatality on the city’s tram tracks.

A three-day national rail strike due to begin later this week has been suspended after a new offer on pay and conditions was put to trade unions.

Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman has reiterated calls for lorries to be banned at rush hour in London to protect cyclists.

London will receive the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in September 2020 following positive public support, the capital’s mayor Boris Johnson has confirmed.

Rail unions have suspended a planned two-day strike after receiving a revised pay offer from negotiators.

A bus powered by cow dung has broken a land speed record by reaching a top speed of almost 77mph.

Britain’s biggest minicab firm has raised doubts about London’s readiness for emission free cab journeys due to a lack of supportive infrastructure

The director of Surrey Highways has apologised to residents for ‘inconvenience’ and disruption caused by a new cycle path.

Early results from a new traffic management scheme operating on the outskirts of Dover are showing heavily reduced town centre congestion.

Cardiff council is developing bus infrastructure proposals in the absence of Welsh Government ‘direction’ on proposed light-rail investment.

A consultation on cutting half a million pounds from yearly bus subsidy spending in North Yorkshire has been opened to the public.

London's ‘Boris bike’ users can now take advantage of Transport for London's (TfL) officially commissioned Santander Cycle app to open an account with their bankcard.

Britain’s businesses have named infrastructure as the top priority for the Government over the next five years, a poll has revealed.

After the creation of the world’s first Active Travel Act in Wales in 2013, transport charities Sustrans and Living Streets are considering whether we need one in England.

Matt Winfield, London deputy director of leading sustainable transport charity Sustrans, gives our readers the lay of the land on cycling design.

Unprecedented change and development in the highways industry took centre stage at Traffex 2015, with president of ITS, Steve Norris, admitting this was ‘no ordinary’ Traffex.

Scotland’s main motorway had tailbacks after a dog took the wheel of a tractor, which steered out of control onto the road.

Bus operators in Swansea hope that a new pedestrian guardrail along the central reservation of Kingsway will avoid closure of the street’s eastbound bus lane.

UK drivers are the most cautious in the continent when it comes to parking, according to research by Nissan.

Edinburgh commuters come top for systematic internet and mobile app usage (85%) in a new survey of 12 major UK cities by urban mobility solution developer Xerox.

Cars are still the preferred mode of transport in Northern Ireland despite £1bn investment into public transport, according to a report by the Audit Office.

Driverless cars could improve quality of life in rural Wales, academics from Glyndwr University claim.

Parkex showcases award winners

'Our cartoonist Rhiannon Rees reacts to this Evening Standard story, which proves that despite popular belief kids find transport planning cool (at least the cool ones do).'

Shetland Islands Council has lost the latest stage in a £14.2million dispute with Sumburgh Airport operator.

Bus users in Bradford will face severe delays next week as drivers vote in favour of strike action.

Charges for spending a penny or mobile phone roaming are frustrating for all consumers. But parking charges are the most loathed fee in Britain, according to a survey by Direct Line.

Labour is promising a smoother ride if it takes power after the May General Election, pledging £300 million towards Britain’s “pothole crisis”.

Central London could face disruptions today as cabbies plan a protest in Oxford Street at 2pm.

Ukip has distributed leaflets in Newcastle claiming that funding for cycling is a form of age discrimination.

A council has stood by its road inspection programme after paying out a six-figure settlement to the widow of a cyclist killed after a hitting a pothole.

In the face of falling budgets, will the Cycling Ambition Programme mark a change in gear for biking infrastructure?

The Government has rejected calls for a single design standard for cycling infrastructure covering the whole of England.

This year’s Budget produced a muted reaction from those in transport and infrastructure with leading figures suggesting the Government should have gone further to lay the foundations for local growth.

A multi-billion pound blueprint for northern transport has today unveiled detailed plans for high-speed rail links between cities, road upgrades and smart ticketing.

A coalition of major businesses has raised pressure on political parties to provide long term funding for cycling and blanket council guidance.

Liberal Democrats have backed plans for a Green Transport Bill, that would hand councils the power to cut speed limits outside schools to 10mph and would ban high emission vehicles by 2040.

Birmingham City Council is set to release a city-wide public realm strategy this June that will outline plans for major pedestrianisation schemes and be backed by tens of millions of investment, Transport Network can reveal.

Eight major cities have learned what share of a £114m Government cycling pot they are set to receive.

The London mayor has unveiled a new £50m sponsorship deal with Santander for the capital’s ‘Boris bikes’, which will also see the launch of a new cycling app.

A list of London’s most dangerous junctions for cyclists has prompted fears that efforts to improve safety could ‘fall short’ of what is needed.

Following a major international study comparing cycling networks across 14 major cities, Transport for London (TfL) has published its finalised London cycle design standards to help spread best practice across the capital and beyond.

Drivers in Cardiff have been slow to modify their behaviour since the city council became the first authority outside London to enforce moving traffic regulations

Edinburgh has announced plans to cash in on cycle tourism after it emerged the Scottish capital could be missing out on £60m a year.

Labour has pledged to ‘fast-track’ establishment of a National Infrastructure Commission if it takes power following May’s General Election.

Infrastructure must be ‘at the heart’ of policies for the next government if the UK is to drive lasting economic growth and improve national resilience, engineers have said.

A county council has been branded ‘incompetent’ after admitting it failed to turn on a bus lane enforcement camera installed five years ago.

Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy has vowed to push through transport projects including a Crossrail for Glasgow using newly devolved powers in Holyrood.

The Transport for London (TfL) board has given final approval for four new cycle superhighways including the 18-mile east to west route dubbed the Crossrail for the Bike - under a £160m cycle upgrade package to be delivered between now and the end of 2016.

Lorries without safety equipment will be banned from London from September under the first such scheme in Britain.

Councils in Scotland are leading the way on electric car use, a study into local authority fleets suggests.

The Government has announced the winners of a local ‘cycling ambition’ competition that has awarded £2.7m to help facilities in five national parks.

New EU data protection rules could push up the cost of telematics-based insurance, which rewards safer drivers and tailors policies to suit their individual circumstances.

A bikers’ campaign is criticising official trials of driverless cars, claiming the legal, social and libertarian issues have not been considered.

East Midlands councils and business leaders have thrown their weight behind construction of an HS2 Hub Station at Toton, Nottinghamshire.

Commuter rail lines should be converted to express busways to deliver cheaper travel for shorter journeys, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has urged.

Councils are at loggerheads over plans for a new runway at Gatwick Airport, as public consultation on expansion plans comes to a close.

The bus industry has poured cold water on Labour plans to see not-for-profit services run by members of the community, raising concerns about potential trade union and fundraising difficulties.

Norfolk County Council is aiming to meet retail-type service standards in the new phase of its £2.5 million, three-year ‘holdall’ bus smartcard rollout

This month ADEPT’s transport board together with senior figures from associated areas of central and local government debated the links between public health and transport and how directors could become more involved in this cross-cutting agenda.

Two major new cycle routes in London including the so-called ‘Crossrail for the bike’ stretching North to South and East to West, are set to go-ahead following months of wrangling between the mayor’s office and local borough councils.

The first legal obligation on Westminster to provide a national cycling strategy with funding commitments could be established in time for next parliament after an amendment was made to the Infrastructure Bill today.

More than half of adults living in England’s major cities would support higher spending on safe cycle routes, a survey has found.

The Government has outlined where its record £6bn fund for potholes and local road improvements will be spent over the next six years.

A new tri-county council alliance may soon have devolved powers over local roads and public transport, improving infrastructure along the A34 and the western section of the Oxford-Cambridge expressway.

UK automakers want London mayor Boris Johnson to make the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) planned for 2020 ‘more ambitious’.

A report claiming English councils have made a £667m ‘profit’ from parking this year has been slammed as ‘misleading’ by local authority leaders.

Peterborough, Colchester and Milton Keynes are the most car dependent cities, according to new research from the Campaign for Better Transport.

A Liberal Democrat MP has resigned as ministerial aide to the energy secretary after his constituents were ‘let down’ by a ‘vague promise’ of funding for the A27.

Devolution of transport powers must now be sped up, with the backing of an ‘overarching’ national transport strategy for England – engineers have said.

Community volunteers have enabled Wiltshire CC to secure 10 convictions against hauliers for ignoring bridge weight restrictions.

London boroughs will receive £148m next year to fund transport improvements, new cycle routes and better pedestrian pathways.

Completion of 100 public electric vehicle (EV) charging points and the introduction of EVs into the Bristol Car Club fleet are among highlights of the city’s year as 2015 European Green Capital.

A rail union has staged protests in London and Cardiff against plans it fears will lead to an ‘Upstairs-Downstairs’ service on inter-city trains.

European Union capital funding for Welsh transport projects has been confirmed in a new National Transport Plan (NTP), published yesterday.

The Welsh Government appears to have placed a five-year moratorium on new railway stations in its new National Transport Plan.

The Campaign for Better Transport is warning that falling fuel prices for motorists could inflict further service cuts and fares increases on public transport users.

Scottish motorists have slated plans for a 30metre digital moving image advertising screen over all four lanes of the main road from Edinburgh to the city’s airport.

Judges have thrown out the latest legal bid from campaigners to block the Government’s high-speed rail HS2 line.

The vast majority of Greater Manchester motorists think the £200m-plus cost of upgrading a key section of the M60 to smart motorway standards is not reasonable.

London’s first cycling ‘Quietways’ will open next May, with transport charity Sustrans delivering the £120m network in all 33 boroughs – mayor Boris Johnson has announced.

Over half of UK drivers are ready to accept their cars being fitted with new connected vehicle (CV) technology, a poll reveals.

Cardiff will have no bus station for two and a half years, council cabinet members will learn on Monday when they are asked to approve plans for a new facility north east of Cardiff Central railway station.

Over half of the £27.5bn cost of Crossrail 2 could be met through revenue from fares, business rates and levies on new developments – a report has concluded.

The Government today announced an extra £214m investment in cycling to improve infrastructure on the strategic road network and extend its Cycling Ambition Cities programme.

Almost 24.7 million UK motorists find parking rules and regulations confusing, according to a survey that has prompted questions around signage.

Police have labelled the rail industry its ‘eyes and ears’ in tackling terrorism, as commuters are this week urged to keep alert to suspicious activity.

All main roads into Scotland’s town centres will have either segregated cycling provision or ‘high quality direct, safe and pleasant alternatives’ by 2030 under the devolved Government’s long-term vision for active travel published today.

A 20-year plan to overhaul Birmingham’s transport system was unveiled this morning by transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin and city council leader Sir Albert Bore.

The Highways Agency has appointed an independent consortium to lead research into dynamic (en-route) charging of electric vehicles (EVs) while using motorways.

Infrastructure delivery in London and the South East is being jeopardised by a skills shortage of nearly 15,000 people, a report claims.

Four London boroughs have warned plans for an Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) ‘will not go far enough’ to improve air quality in the capital.

Over 300 low emission buses will be operating in the capital by the end of this year, as Transport for London (TfL) accelerates efforts to cut emissions.

Car-sharing campaign Carplus wants the transport sector to take advantage of an extension for submissions to the Government’s Sharing Economy Review.

Councils in flood-hit areas have seen claims for pothole damage rise by almost a quarter this year, as compensation payouts exceed £5m.

The Ayrshire, Scotland-based Tracked Electric Vehicle (TEV) project has been shortlisted for the New York-based Spark Award for design innovation.

Evidence is emerging of pensioners hiding their bus passes and paying full fare because they fear for the future of their local service.

Merseyside’s long-delayed Walrus smartcard – a regional equivalent to London’s Oyster – is set to debut on 24 November.

Trains in the North of England have been branded ‘decrepit’ by Nick Clegg, as the deputy prime minister pledges a package of sweeping transport improvements.

Cardiff Council expects to begin enforcing moving traffic offences early next month, after belatedly receiving the required formal powers.

Cardiff airport’s viability could be undermined if cross-Severn road journeys become cheaper, faster and more reliable, it is claimed.

Flooding risks becoming more likely thanks to falling government spending on defences, with auditors warning only a small number of councils have published strategies.

Handing motorists up to £500 for choosing models pre-fitted with autonomous emergency braking (AEB) could save £2.9bn in accidents by 2025, research suggests.

Passenger transport in Norfolk could be improved if existing spending on services by the public and private sectors were pooled, a study is suggesting in its early stages.

London mayor Boris Johnson is set for a showdown with the City of London Corporation over his £50m plans for two cycle superhighways.

Living Streets - formally the Pedestrians' Association - recently celebrated its 85th birthday. In a specially commissioned article, the organisation tells Transport Network how it has kept leading the way on safety and urban realm developments for nearly a century.

The Government's decision to close the Transport Direct website is premature, says transport expert Stephen Joseph OBE.

Local government has been placed at the heart of prime minister David Cameron’s plans to instigate a ‘cycling revolution’ in this country, with councils called on to form bespoke partnerships with Westminster to boost cycling numbers.

A Yorkshire council faces refunding six years of parking fines after uncovering errors in its traffic enforcement strategy.

Local authorities should improve their currently ‘limited understanding’ of social media to keep travellers better informed, two professional bodies urged this week.

A £30m funding pot has been unveiled to support communities and businesses develop local projects along the HS2 line.

A coalition of 10 MPs has written to the transport secretary, calling for a direct train service between Oxford and Bristol.

A new national college for high-speed rail will be sited at both Birmingham and Doncaster, the Government has announced.

Plans for 20mph speed limits across much of Hammersmith and Fulham have been put to the public, among a £1.81m programme of street improvements set for 2015.

Traffic control centre (TCC) operators must ensure their use of road monitoring cameras meets new privacy standards, a CCTV specialist consultant has warned local authorities.

A £2m Government funding package is set to boost rail services between Nottingham, Newark and Lincoln, raising train numbers and journey frequency.

Standard driving test qualifications will not be enough for professional motorists trialling autonomous vehicles (AVs) in 2015 pilots, the Government has been warned.

The Government has been accused of making ‘disappointingly slow progress’ on reducing the number of road casualties in the UK.

Reading Borough Council is moving its UTMC-based traffic management centre (TMC) into the Cloud in 2015, in what could be the first full-scale transfer by a local authority.

London mayor Boris Johnson has been accused of ditching promises on cycling in light of figures suggesting two cycle superhighways have been dropped and others delayed.

Worcestershire CC has green-lit a £33m road improvement plan, thought to be the largest local project of its kind in 20 years.

Wales’ ground-breaking Active Travel Act comes into force tomorrow (25 September), with one minister now overseeing it instead of two.

Detailed plans for two of Europe’s longest 'substantially-segregated urban cycleways' have been unveiled by Transport for London (TfL), as part of a £913m road safety effort.

A £2.5m programme to improve pavements and walkways across Buckinghamshire has been launched, with work underway to treat 49 sites this year alone.

A group of leading academics have backed Boris Johnson’s plans for a massive extension of London’s cycle superhighways, including an 18-mile ‘Crossrail for the bike’, while criticising current transport modelling for cycling.

University researchers have suggested that changing your commute from driving to travelling on foot or by bike can improve your wellbeing and boost your ability to concentrate.

Transport links in Bridgwater and Taunton will receive a £2.8m boost in advance of the construction of the UK’s first nuclear power plant in over 20 years, the Government has announced.

Train fares are to be frozen for another year, with operating companies receiving fewer freedoms over individual prices - George Osborne has announced.

Vulnerable children are being failed by British Transport Police (BTP) in its responsibilities for rail network and station safety, MPs have said.

A 66% discount on bus travel would be handed to all of England’s 16 to 21-year-olds under plans unveiled by the Liberal Democrats today.

Northern Irish transport minister Danny Kennedy has unveiled plans for a 25-year bicycle strategy designed to create a ‘cycling culture’ in the devolved nation.

London mayor Boris Johnson's planned 'Crossrail for the bike’ must protect kerbside access for freight movements and deliveries, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) has warned.

Sustainable transport campaigners have called for more dedicated walking and cycling routes to schools after analysis suggests children are spending 45% more time in school run traffic since the mid-1990s.

A cycle hire scheme providing trendy folding bikes has been launched in Birmingham through a joint £140,000 project involving the local council, transport authority and train operator.

Six national organisations and two peers in the House of Lords are proposing a new law to guarantee funding for cycling and walking is placed on a similar footing to the system covering railways.

Wolverhampton city centre will undergo major pedestrianisation and traffic flow changes by the end of this month as part of a wider £1.6m project to upgrade the area by the city council.

Scotland achieved its lowest number of road casualties last year according to figures released this week, as congestion also fell to its lowest level since 1999.

London’s Barclays Cycle Hire scheme will be free this weekend, as Transport for London (TfL) continues to encourage more of the capital’s residents to take up cycling.

Transport minister Baroness Kramer has announced seven local authority sustainable transport schemes will benefit from share of a £9000,000 in the wake of last month’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) allocations.

Bristol City Council has celebrated reaching a major travel ‘tipping point’ as driving to work is no longer the norm for the under 40s according to new research.

The nation is less active and making fewer transport trips than it has in almost 20 years according to the latest national travel survey released today.

Colin Matthews, former chief executive of Heathrow Airport Holdings, has been appointed chairman of the Highways Agency.

Islington LBC is set for a £2m investment in new cycling infrastructure building new routes across the borough.

Birmingham is to become the headquarters for construction of High Speed 2 (HS2), in a move expected to support wide-reaching local regeneration plans.

Cycling budgets should be raised to five times current levels by 2020 if long-term infrastructure developments are to make roads safer, MPs have said.

Provision of traffic-free, walking and cycling routes can lead to more people travelling by foot and bike, a study suggests.

The number of journeys made on the National Cycle Network increased by 50 million (7%) last year to reach a record 748 million trips by bike or on foot, according to a new report.

Council transport schemes up and down the country will benefit from a £440m investment following the latest allocations from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) announced today.

Transport for London (TfL) has published plans for the first segregated cycle superhighway in the heart of the capital, giving cyclists better infrastructure at key black spots and opening up a ‘vital’ route to support cycling from south London residents.

In May almost half a million children took up the challenge of Walk to School Week (19-23 May), part of national charity Living Streets’ annual flagship campaign, National Walking Month.

Will advanced satellite technology go some way towards improving air quality across the UK? David Crawford reports on local authority air quality projects around the country.

Commutes across the country are set to be made easier thanks to a £15m cash injection from the Government to improve train station cycle facilities.

Road and pavement conditions have been revealed as the top public priority for local improvement in a national poll.

Ministers have been urged to make ‘a bold commitment’ to active transport, as figures suggest more walking and cycling could save the UK billions every year.

Birmingham City Council has opened the first canal cycling towpath route under the authority’s £24.3m programme to boost active travel.

The Scottish Government has unveiled a £15m greener travel funding package for the next two years to deliver a fleet of electric cars, new cycling infrastructure and social programmes to help modal shift.

Birmingham City Council has released a 25-year Mobility Action Plan (BMAP), outlining proposals to challenge the historic car culture of the city.

There are big disparities in transport infrastructure investment across the country. By some measures, up to 500 times more is invested in transport infrastructure for London compared with other parts of the country.

Reforms to the Highways Agency announced in the Queen’s Speech have split opinion, with concerns being raised over an 'inevitable' rise in road tolling.

A transport minister has pledged to examine road funding systems following a meeting with Surrey County Council.

Scotland TranServ has described the first year of its contract to maintain the country’s southwestern trunk road network as 'successful yet challenging'.

A row has erupted between Transport for London (TfL) and the London Assembly over allegations the government body forced through Underground ticket office closure plans.

London mayor, Boris Johnson, has begun the search for a new commercial partner for the London Cycle Hire scheme following Barclays’ early departure from the project.

Liverpool Council has set itself the ambitious target of getting an extra 30,000 residents cycling over the next three years, as it seeks to spark widespread active travel use across the city.

A project to bring driverless vehicles to Milton Keynes moved a step closer to reality with the appointment of RDM Group as manufacturing partner.

Prosecutions for blue badge fraud have doubled over the past three years, as councils renew their commitment to tackle dishonest motorists.

London’s bus network carried more passengers in 2013/14 than in any year since 1959, with over 2.4bn journeys being made.

Technology that could permanently repair potholes in two minutes is being trialled by Central Bedfordshire Council, in what could be a regional first.

More than 40% of parents have seen their child almost hit by a car on the school run, according to new figures from leading transport charity Sustrans.

Welsh transport minister Edwina Hart has announced a £15.4m boost for 41 projects to improve public transport, walking and cycling facilities and traffic flows across the devolved nation.

Cyclists could be granted priority over cars on many urban roads, with motorists banned from overtaking bikes along more popular routes.

Some 14 Olympic and Paralympic cycling athletes have called on their local councils to improve road conditions for people on bikes.

Transport planners should develop road designs that reflect the way in which people are taught to cycle according to sustainable transport charity Sustrans, which has released a Handbook for Cycle-Friendly Design.

A new World Health Organisation (WHO) report has revealed that more than 500 lives a year could be saved if London was to achieve the health benefits of Copenhagen’s high level of cycling.

A future Labour government would devolve 'historic' powers over transport to the country’s cities and towns, party leader Ed Miliband has revealed.

Newham LBC will refund up to £347,000 to drivers given parking tickets illegally by dozens of cameras.

A near four-year demonstration project will investigate use of zero emission urban bus systems across Europe, researchers have revealed.

The proportion of people cycling to work in England and Wales remained static over the last decade according to fresh census data, despite major investment from Government.

The Treasury is thought to have freed up £1bn of funding for infrastructure projects through yesterday’s shake up of public sector pensions.

A coroner in North Yorkshire has told an inquest there was ‘no doubt’ poor road conditions caused the death of a cyclist, prompting anger at the council from the deceased’s family.

Sustainable transport campaigners have marked the launch of Climate Week today by calling on more families to cycle to school in a bid to tackle pollution and boost health.

Transport for London (TfL) has identified 33 of London’s most notorious road junctions to be the subjects of a £300m cycle-safety transformation programme, to be completed by 2016.

Transport for London (TfL) has produced what is believed to be the world’s first transport health action plan, committing to a continued partnership with the NHS until 2017.

Liverpool City Council is set to launch a cycle hire scheme in April after appointing UK supplier HourBike Ltd to run the project.

Norfolk CC’s claim the new Norwich distributor road (NDR) has majority public support are inaccurate and the real figure is only 15%, new research has claimed.

The decision to cut funding for bus services in North Yorkshire is to be reassessed following a group of councillors calling-in the funding decision.

Lorries without safety equipment to protect the lives of cyclists and pedestrians will be banned from London by the end of the year.

The importance of stations as gateways to the towns they serve has been historically undervalued by both the rail industry and local authorities.

It has been fashionable in political circles for several years now to talk about investing in cycling infrastructure, but exactly how far has the movement towards better provision for the travel mode has gone remains something of an open question.

Traditionally, business group interventions into transport policy consist largely of demands for more infrastructure, especially big new roads. But it does not need to be this way.

Quarter-of-a-million pounds of funding for a major cycle scheme in Inverness has been signed off by the local council.

More than £17m has been ploughed into additional cycling improvements for the City of London and all 32 borough councils, it has been announced.

Transport emissions targets for the EU could be dropped in 2020 after Brussels failed to outline a future for greenhouse gas goals.

Green party members on the London Assembly have accused the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, of endangering lives unnecessarily due to an underspend in the cycling budget.

New figures assembled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) list the top ten categories of deaths in London boroughs for the first time, with air pollution a factor in a majority of cases according to clean air campaigners.

The Government has announced the winners of the annual Air Quality Grant Programme, which this year awards £1m to local authority schemes tackling nitrogen dioxide levels normally associated with road transport.

Harrogate BC has been caught in an unprecedented legal debacle over its hosting of the Tour de France next year, which has resulted in a parliamentary intervention from communities secretary Eric Pickles.

Operators of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) should sign-up to a voluntary safety improvement charter - or risk legislation after the next election - Labour shadow transport secretary, Mary Creagh has said.

More than 60% of public sector bodies in Scotland do not have plans to reduce their transport use and should be given a year to implement a Travel Plan, according to a new report.

Digital counters have been installed at nine sites across Scotland to monitor the number of cyclists passing through the area.

Charities have called for longer green man crossing times on UK roads, after research suggests three-quarters of over 65s struggle to cross the road at signalised crossings.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has caused outrage by accusing cyclists of taking ‘decisions that put their lives in danger’, in the wake of the death of five cyclists in nine days in the capital.

The London Assembly has made a plea for mayor Boris Johnson to act after five cyclists have been killed in nine days in the capital.

Swedish designers have created a bike helmet that operates like an airbag and can even stop a cyclist messing up their hair.

British Cycling has partnered with three councils in the North West of England to help encourage younger residents onto their bikes.

Plans to build a third runway at Heathrow are 'toxic', the mayor of London, Boris Johnson has told business leaders.

Up to £419,000 could be cut from road and verge maintenance budgets over the next two years by West Berkshire Council.

Government, educational institutions and business must do more to ensure engineering expertise is grown in the UK, a new report has said.

Concern has been raised that a shared space scheme in Southend could be sinking in areas, according to reports.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has signed off a £17m project to revamp Leeds station, creating a new entrance to reduce congestion at the facility.

Active travel in London has increased by 23% since 2010 along the capital’s greenways routes, it has been announced.

London's iconic ‘Boris Bikes’ scheme is due to go electric to help users tackle the capital's hills, under a trial scheme in Haringey LBC.

Nearly half of London schools have been given active travel accreditation by Transport for London for having suitable plans to help students increase cycling, walking and public transport journeys to school.

The Government wants a lot more roads built across the country but as the first schemes reach the planning stage, they are meeting stern opposition.

Concern has been raised about the long-term sustainability of London’s ‘Boris Bikes’ scheme after new figures show users have declined by almost a third.

The Government has announced funding allocations for 2013 and 2015 to help local authorities extend rights to free travel for school children as well as promote sustainable travel.

The Government has launched a national cycle safety campaign after seeing its success in London, road safety minister Robert Goodwill has announced.

Brighton and Hove City Council has come runner-up in a Europe-wide contest to find the best city for sustainable transport initiatives, billed as Europe's highest award for clean urban transport.

Natural England has committed more than £2m towards access improvements for local public pathways since May 2012, the Government advisory body announced this week.

The Welsh Assembly has passed its landmark Active Travel Bill placing a duty on local authorities to plan a network of walking and cycling routes and then work to deliver and promote it.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has signed off a £40m cash injection for new bus stations and improvements across the Pennine Reach bus network.

New amendments to the Active Travel Bill in Wales have been welcomed by sustainable transport charity, Sustrans.

Labour has unveiled a raft of new national transport policies following the results of the party’s long-running policy commission - due to be announced at the party conference next week.

Nottingham City Council has hailed its CityCard Cycles bike hire scheme a success after seeing a summer rush, and has announced plans to expand the network.

Upgrades to the Barclays Cycle Hire system will take place this weekend, leading to the future expansion of the scheme to south and west London from December 2013.

Plans to develop an extension to the Reading cycle network in Wokingham have been put forward by officers at the borough council.

Camden LBC is using a new scheme involving plant boxes on a busy highway to help cyclist and car segregation, in what is thought to be a UK first.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has revealed the eight shortlisted boroughs hoping to win a share of a £100m ‘mini-Holland’ cash pot to help revolutionise the capital’s cycling infrastructure.

Labour has called for English councils to be legally obliged to plan fully integrated networks of cycle routes and footways under the party's new ‘cycling manifesto’.

Car use across England and Wales has declined by 2% in the last decade, research has shown.

New technology has been implemented by West Midlands transport authority Centro to make planning journeys easier, it has been claimed.

Cycling to work could halve the number of sick days taken in the UK and provide a £13.7bn annual boost to British business, according to statistics released today by a leading transport charity.

New ring-fenced government health funding will help councils close down local roads and encourage children to play in the streets.

A £18m bid for a 23km Cycle Superhighway connecting Bradford and Leeds has been successful, prime minister David Cameron announced today as part of a £150m boost for cycling.

Football clubs have been told to up their game by providing cost-effective transport options for travelling fans.

Drivers in the Midlands are being asked to stop misusing the hard shoulder, after it was found hundreds illegally enter the lanes every day.

London’s air quality is set to worsen under mayor Boris Johnson’s Ultra Low Emission Zone, according to a member of the London Assembly.

Almost half of Londoners would cycle more often if improvements were made to road safety, according to a survey.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has called on the prime minister David Cameron to turn disused railway lines closed by Richard Beeching in the 1960s into cross-country cycle paths.

New government figures have revealed the total number of UK transport trips across all modes has fallen by 12% since the mid-1990s - with car travel still the dominant mode.

Plans for a continuous stretch of coastal pathway along the Norfolk coast have been published by Natural England.

Ministers must develop a comprehensive transport strategy to ‘reverse the trend of declining accessibility to key services in rural areas’ a cross-party group of MPs has warned.

The Government's new command paper on roads has been welcomed and criticised in equal measure by the transport industry following the announcement of £28bn of highways investment.

Commuters are being held responsible for a rise in cycling to rail stations, as journeys this year reach 39 million.

London mayor Boris Johnson's eponymous Boris Bikes scheme has been slammed after figures show sponsor Barclays only pays a sixth of the annual £11m costs leaving taxpayers with the tab.

The proposed HS2 route between London and the West Midlands has been safeguarded, protecting the line from conflicting developments.

Milton Keynes has been selected as the location for the £150m Transport Systems Catapult centre for development of integrated transport solutions.

Further questions have been raised about cycle safety in London following the death of the first cyclist using a Barclay's Hire bike.

Development of Crossrail remains on schedule and within budget, with around six years left before full services are launched.

The ADEPT transport board has drawn up an action plan to help embed joint working on the public health agenda following it’s return to local government in April this year.

Transport minister Norman Baker has praised Stratford’s new £6.9m Parkway train station, emphasising the far-reaching benefits of the development.

Work on the latest Cycle Superhighway in London is due to begin this summer, Transport for London (TfL) has announced.

A strengthened single body for cycling in Scotland should be set up to deliver the quarter of billion pounds in benefits from the transport mode to the local economy, a report has claimed.

London Mayor Boris Johnson must take urgent action to cut pollution in the capital, the London Assembly has said.

Leeds City Council is considering extending the hours that the city’ core shopping area is pedestrianised.

Major plans to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on London roads have been released by Transport for London (TfL).

The first annual report into the success of Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) schemes has failed to quash concerns over the evaluation process behind the fund, Transport Network can reveal.

Britain is ranked in the top ten 'best countries' for cycling in the European Union, new statistics have revealed.

Energy secretary Edward Davey has backed a new climate change risk analysis service from the Met office, which could help support transport resilience.

Suppliers of transport infrastructure to London are benefiting commercially from the capital’s lack of long-term funding certainty, London Mayor Boris Johnson has complained.

Carlton Reid, executive editor of BikeBiz.com and the author of forthcoming book ‘Roads Were Not Built For Cars’, takes a look at how to make cycling infrastructure work in the UK.

Parents could be endangering their children’s health by driving them to school rather than letting them walk a leading pedestrian charity has warned.

Councils must use their new public health responsibilities to get more people commuting on foot to combat obesity, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) has urged.

Transport for London (TfL) has said funding for the mayor’s £1bn Vision for Cycling still stands, despite reports of upcoming spending cuts.

Plans for a cycle superhighway linking Bradford with Leeds and Continental-style segregated bike lanes across Manchester featured in bids made to the Government’s cycle city ambition fund.

The Government has failed in its legal duty to protect people from the harmful effects of air pollution, the Supreme Court has ruled.

The Government is set to announce a new cross-departmental body with a £1bn budget for investing in cycling and walking projects - it has emerged.

London cycling commissioner Andrew Gilligan has claimed a new roundabout layout currently being tested in laboratory conditions could be applied to the capital’s roads within a year, despite not conforming to government regulations.

David Cameron has supported a parliamentary report aimed at boosting cycling rates to achieve a 10% share of UK journeys by 2025, and suggested local authorities must take the lead.

Cambridge has once again topped the league table for cycling in England, as the latest government statistics suggest councils have failed to increase cycling levels since 2010.

A series of changes to London's congestion charge were announced today, as mayor Boris Johnson aims to make the scheme greener.

At least £600m a year should be dedicated to boosting cycling rates in Britain to achieve a 10% share of journeys by 2025, a group of MPs and peers said today.

Sustrans has criticised Caerphilly CBC for relocating scores of housing staff to an office that is difficult to reach by public transport or bicycle.

Welsh local authorities should be required to promote active travel as well as improving cycling and walking facilities, Wales’ new environmental agency has argued.

A bid for £17m of Government funding to transform cycling provision in Birmingham is being put before the city council’s cabinet today.

Visitors to Traffex this week heard from the Government about how it is using the transport sector to push for economic growth, consulting on proposals to overhaul traffic sign legislation, and creating more sustainable travel..

The lives of cyclists could be saved by a ground-breaking satnav programmed to alert lorry drivers to the risk of collisions, its developers claimed today.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, aims to ban Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) from the capital, unless they are fitted with sensory equipment to detect cyclists in blind spots.

Funding for individual transport modes should be more reflective of the amount the public use them, leading cycling experts have claimed.

Scores of local authorities have won a share of a £40m cash pot to help improve cycle safety across the country, transport minister Norman Baker has announced.

On the 50th anniversary of the Beeching report the Department for Transport has told Transport Network the ‘tide has turned’ and many of the local lines that were closed in the wake of that explosive publication are set to be re-opened.

Sustainable transport charity Sustrans is set to celebrate the opening of Britain’s longest cycling tunnel built on the former Somerset and Dorset railway line - 50 years since the Beeching cuts forced the line to close.

Brighton and Hove City Council has revealed 20pmh speed limits for its city centre will be introduced from 8 April.

Dominic Browne talks to Tony Ciaburro about his ambitious transport and environment plans for Northamptonshire, and what steps need to be taken on a national level to improve local transport

Council chiefs have called on local authorities to reduce surface transport emissions in a new report designed to embed best practice on green initiatives.

London mayor Boris Johnson has unveiled a £900m cycle plan for the capital to improve infrastructure and create a segregated route parallel to the city’s tube and bus routes.

Cycling infrastructure is gaining momentum, but concerns remain overr adapting our roads for Britain’s cyclists. Carlos da Rocha writes on designing for safety.

The Government could more than double its return on transport investments if local authorities were given more freedom to drive projects, ministers were told this week.

Behaviour change programmes should be part of Britain’s ‘mainstream’ transport strategy, industry experts have claimed after a Cardiff scheme cut car journeys by 8%.

Government cuts to road safety budgets must be reversed after official figures showed an increase in vulnerable road users being killed or seriously injured (KSI), motoring and

Dominic Browne looks at what City Deals mean for the future of local transport.

A planned cycle superhighway along the A315 in Hounslow could make life more dangerous for cyclists due to its narrow design, local residents have claimed.

The Government’s chief medical officer has called on local authorities to invest in cycling infrastructure and create an environment that allows children and parents to ‘cycle with confidence’.

An extra £4m of funding will be made available for cycling projects in Scotland, ministers have announced.

Ministers this week stressed the need for councils to do more to deliver necessary cycling infrastructure, as plans were unveiled to boost cycle safet

Changing the perception of active travel options must occur for new local health powers to be successful, Norman Baker has said.

Attempts local campaigners to receive a judicial review for the Bexhill-Hastings Link Road have been quashed after the High Court rejected an appeal.

The Climate Change Act will remain unchanged as part of the Government’s red-tape challenge, climate change secretary minister, Ed Davey revealed this week. Mr Davey said low-carbon legislation would remain unchanged but ‘that does not mean there isn’t room for improvements in other areas’ &nd

Campaigners have called for 20mph speed limits in light of recent research by parenting website www.parentdish.co.uk, suggesting one in 10 parents living within 500 yards of school still drive their children to the gates.