New coalition calls for cities to invest more in active travel

Enabling more people to walk and cycle safely can play a greater role in achieving climate goals, and is also a quick, affordable and reliable way to lower transport emissions while improving public health, strengthening the economy and supporting a fairer, more equitable society.

Typically around 60% of urban trips are shorter than 5km, and a quarter are less than 1km, yet walking and cycling currently make up just a third of these. With the number of urban trips expected to more than double between 2020 and 2050, this needs to change fast. The PATH (Partnership for Active Travel and Health), a wide alliance of mobility stakeholders, is calling for active travel to be placed front and centre of sustainable mobility agendas. In order to highlight the issue. PATH wrote a letter to COP27 calling on governments and cities to invest more in walking and cycling. 

PATH is a new coalition, spearheaded by the FIA Foundation, European Cyclist Federation, Walk-21, the United Nations and others, calling on governments and cities to make a real commitment to walking and cycling as a key solution to the climate, health and equity challenges which they face. From the All India Bicycle Federation to Bicycle Industries Australia, Cork Healthy Cities to Cycling Embassy Botswana, the signatories to the letter are diverse in geography, yet united in their ambition to support active travel.

PATH has also published a comprehensive report which provides an overview of the social, economic and environmental benefits of active travel, and the ways land use planning, campaigns and capacity building can be harnessed to propel action. It is a helpful tool to support cities in making the case for and prioritising active modes in their cities.

For more information on the letter, see PATH's website.