Cycle Sprog responds to APPGCW’s Active Travel and Social Justice Inquiry

Karen Gee, founder of Cycle Sprog, was invited to submit oral evidence on an inquiry into ‘Active Travel and Social Justice’ at Parliament on Monday 9 December. She joined representatives from organisations including Living Streets, Age UK, and Wheels for Wellbeing to discuss the systemic barriers preventing equitable access to walking and cycling in the UK.

This inquiry by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cycling and Walking (APPGCW) seeks to understand who is excluded from active travel, why they are excluded, and how these inequities can be addressed through infrastructure, policy, and funding.

For Cycle Sprog, this was a vital opportunity to spotlight the challenges families face when trying to adopt active travel. From unsafe roads and patchy infrastructure to the barriers faced by parents cycling with children, the evidence presented reflects our mission to make cycling accessible to all families.

In England in 2022, 40% of children aged 5-10 are being driven to school, contributing to traffic congestion, poor air quality, and declining physical activity levels. Increasing access to safe and sustainable active travel options like walking and cycling has the potential to improve health outcomes for all.

For children, it means meeting daily exercise recommendations, reducing obesity levels, and fostering lifelong healthy habits. For families, it provides opportunities for shared activity, reduces dependency on cars, and makes communities safer and more liveable.

Most parents and carers and children do not currently cycle for transport because they do not feel it is safe. The main reason is the lack of safe routes. Roads are getting busier, vehicles getting bigger, and driver attitudes are at a low point. Cycling infrastructure built to current standards enables people of all ages and abilities to cycle. If we want to achieve a modal shift, we need to enable new people to take up cycling, especially for shorter, everyday journeys.

The APPGCW inquiry raises six key questions, and we’ve addressed these questions in our written response to the APPGCW inquiry. We are looking forward to reading the report when it becomes available.

Visit Active Travel and Social Justice Inquiry for more details on the inquiry.