£53m cash boost for active travel

ACTIVE travel schemes announced this week will receive a funding boost of more than £53m this year as part of further efforts to encourage healthy travel – with more than £20m to follow.

The dedicated budget for active travel has risen from £5m since the start of this Welsh Government term, which Lee Waters MS has described as evidence of the Welsh Government’s commitment to delivering the vision in its new transport strategy.

Llwybr Newydd was published this week and pledges a bold increase in the number of people using public transport, walking and cycling.

A total of 44 larger schemes and packages of schemes in local authorities will be funded through the first tranche of the Active Travel Fund this year, worth £47m. Included in this sum is also a £14m “core allocation” shared among all local authorities. A further £20m will be allocated later in the year to support more schemes.

In addition, pupils will be helped to get to school through the Safe Routes in Communties grant – now worth £6.4m. This will support 21 schemes across Wales to create safe walking and cycling routes around schools.

The investment in active travel forms part of funding package worth more than £210m to support the new transport strategy.

Mr Waters, Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport, said: “Over the past five years we’ve been able to dramatically increase the amount we spend on active travel, and this shows our commitment to taking forward the vision we outlined in our new transport strategy.”