Active Travel and Social Justice inquiry
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking launches inquiry to help identify barriers to wider participation
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking (APPGCW) is launching an inquiry to explore social justice issues related to active travel in the UK. The inquiry (which is supported by British Cycling and Leigh Day) will investigate barriers that prevent equitable access to cycling, walking and wheeling, with the aim of understanding how infrastructure, policy, and social factors influence who benefits from active travel and who remains excluded.
This evidence will help shape recommendations to make active travel accessible and appealing to all communities.
Despite active travel’s well-documented benefits for health, environment, and community wellbeing, disparities exist in who can fully enjoy these advantages. Physical barriers, such as inaccessible footways or unsuitable cycling infrastructure, financial obstacles, and social perceptions can prevent certain groups from engaging in active travel. The APPGCW aims to address these issues and invites insights from experts, advocates, and members of the public.
The inquiry seeks evidence on topics including:
● Groups currently excluded from active travel and the reasons for this exclusion.
● How factors like poverty, disability, and local infrastructure impact active travel access and safety.
● Successful initiatives, in the UK or internationally, that have improved inclusivity in active travel.
● Actions, policies, or resources that could help overcome barriers to active travel for all, whether through infrastructure, funding, or community engagement.
The inquiry will seek written evidence, and hold an in-person evidence session on the 9th of December in Parliament. The APPGCW invites written evidence from individuals and organisations with insights or experience related to these themes. The inquiry will have an advisory board (of between five and eight members) which, as far as possible will represent the range of work being done at present in the UK to widen participation in active travel. The members’ main role will be to give their views on the principal findings of the investigation and resultant recommendations.
For more information on how to submit evidence, click here