Ministers want 60% of children walking or cycling to school by 2035

Ministers want 60% of children walking or cycling to school by 203516 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleMaia DaviesGetty ImagesThe target is part of the government's new strategy to promote active travel in EnglandAt least 60% of children in England should be walking or cycling to school within a decade under the government's new active travel plans.Ministers say millions more five-to-16-year-olds will be able to travel by foot or bike using thousands of safer routes promised under its "record" £4.5bn investment strategy.At least half of all short trips in towns and cities should also be walked or cycled by 2035 and a "national walking and cycling network" will be available on route mapping apps within five years, under the plans.Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the strategy sought to make active travel "a practical choice for millions more journeys".The latest government data, from 2023, suggested that 47% of children aged five to 16 usually walk or cycle to school.Some 5,000 walking, wheeling and cycling routes and 10,000 "safer" crossings will be built by 2030 to meet the new target, the Department for Transport (DfT) said, which will be delivered alongside local authorities and Active Travel England.There will be £135m spent on programmes training children to walk and cycle safely to school, and to help schools develop travel plans - although it is already commonplace that they encourage pupils to avoid car journeys. Ministers also want 55% of short trips to be active by 2035 - including what is described as a "stage" of a journey, such as walking or cycling to onward public transport. The current level is 48%, according to the DfT.The increase would mean 5.3m more people being physically active in towns and cities, ministers say.The strategy also sets out plans to develop a national active travel network that is "usable at a national scale", including consistent signage an...