Cross nation active travel report

Active travel (AT) is increasingly recognised across all four UK nations as a critical lever for improving public health, tackling transport-related carbon emissions and addressing social inequalities. All governments have committed to expanding active travel as part of wider climate, health and transport strategies. However, delivering on these ambitions requires a robust understanding of who is travelling actively, where, and under what conditions. Developing clear, consistent indicators and data collection practices is essential to guide evidence-informed policy, monitor progress toward Net Zero and ensure that interventions are equitable, effective and scalable. The PolicyWISE Cross Nation Cluster programme fosters cross-national collaboration and knowledge exchange across key policy areas in the UK. In 2024, an Active Travel Cluster was convened, with participants identifying the need to map data and indicators used to monitor AT across the four UK national administrations. This report was commissioned to fill this gap. It presents the findings of a cross-nation mapping exercise and rapid evidence review, offering a comparative overview of definitions, data collection practices, policy approaches and gaps in the monitoring and evaluation of AT across the four national governments of the UK.