68 organisations from across Scotland have come together to urge all political parties to enable more people to walk, wheel or cycle, ahead of the 2026 Holyrood election.
The ‘Joint Active Travel Manifesto for 2026’ calls for parties to commit to multi-year budgets, link public transport and improve road safety, in order to build on ongoing success and bring the benefits of walking/wheeling and cycling to more people.
From helping to reduce Scotland’s carbon emissions to improving public health and supporting local economies, the manifesto highlights some of the many benefits that active travel brings, calling on parties to pledge to support five key commitments:
- Investment: provide long term investment to transform our local high streets and communities, committing at least 10% of the transport budget to active travel funding.
- Long-term commitment: Multi-year budgets to accelerate delivery of national strategies on walking/wheeling and cycling, offer better value for money and give more people access to active travel, regardless of income and background.
- Infrastructure: Transform our communities, enabling anyone, especially younger people – to travel more safely on foot, by wheeling or by bike. Including through well maintained, accessible networks of walking or cycling routes and reorganised street space, creating better, greener local places.
- Link active and public transport: Integrate walking and cycling infrastructure with public transport in rural areas especially, providing alternatives to the car. Reducing congestion for all and effortlessly linking longer journeys.
- Safety: Reduce road danger by lowering traffic speeds in our communities, by taking dangerous drivers off the road and by creating more accessible streets for all: implementing the pavement parking ban, reinforcing the new Highway Code and making welcoming spaces everyone can use and enjoy.
Increased national investment in active travel was supported by all major parties at the 2021 Holyrood election, and has led to impressive increases in walking, wheeling and cycling where projects have been delivered, Sadly, it’s not all good news as 12 people are killed or seriously injured while walking, wheeling or cycling every week in Scotland and more action is needed to keep people safe and reduce danger at source.
The Scottish Government’s 2026 budget has set out increased funding for active travel and bus infrastructure over the next four years – an extremely welcome development that will help to create safer streets, healthier communities, and support more thriving local economies. The Joint Active Travel Manifesto calls on all political parties to commit to sustaining and building on this investment into the long term.