The Active Travel Commissioner, Dame Sarah Storey, has shared a refreshed active travel mission for Greater Manchester which is centred around accessibility, behaviour change and clear communications. 

The updated policy sets out the priorities for active travel in Greater Manchester to ensure the benefits of walking, wheeling and cycling are unlocked for all residents and communities. 

The mission sets out 10 key recommendations for active travel in Greater Manchester, which are as followed: 

1. Renew the commitment for every part of the Bee Active Network to be universally accessible. 

2. Deliver a pilot for trialling the carriage of bikes and non-standard cycles on trams. 

3. Adopt Vision Zero, clearly stating a timeframe and plan for all people in GM to commit to. 

4. Publish a plan for the expansion of GM’s cycle hire scheme to additional areas of Greater Manchester. 

5. Establish an integrated ticketing system for the Bee Network that incorporates cycle hire, allowing customers to complete end to end, multi-modal journeys with a single fare. 

6. Explore new offers - including for Our Pass holders - on Cycle Hire and TfGM's Cycle Hubs to improve access and encourage use. 

7. Publish the comprehensive network review by the end of April 2023  

8. Publish a comprehensive update to the future pipeline of active travel infrastructure, acknowledging the previous ten year target and including annual goals to enable progress to be transparently tracked and reported on year by year. Target date of April 2023 for the initial update. 

9. Deliver a new plan for travel between home and school that reduces the number of children being driven less than 2km to their school and helps support Greater Manchester’s ambitions for improved air quality. 

10. Work with GM’s local authorities and the VCSE sector to create an expanding, accessible and diverse range of training offers to suit local needs that reaches all residents of GM by 2025. Collaborate with Bikeability to assist them in achieving the ambition to ensure that every child is able to achieve level 2 Bikeability by 2025.  

Dame Sarah Storey, Active Travel Commissioner, said:

“I am delighted to share the refreshed active travel mission for Greater Manchester and show everyone how we plan to build on the successes of the region’s first Cycling and Walking Commissioner, Chris Boardman. 

“Providing people with the opportunity to walk, wheel or cycle is fundamental to helping us move around Greater Manchester in different ways, particularly for short trips or giving barrier free access to public transport stops."