Active Travel England (ATE) has awarded grants through its £1 million Innovation Fund, with 12 successful projects receiving grants of up to £100,000.
The projects range from e-cargo bike share schemes and community behaviour change programmes, to ‘gamified’ walking campaigns and accessible wheeling apps.
The Active Travel Innovation Fund was launched in October last year to enable small and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs) and non‑governmental organisations (NGOs) to develop new ideas or expand successful initiatives that are already making a difference.
Funded projects will provide more people with healthier and sustainable active travel options, especially those from under-represented groups, supporting the government’s missions to improve public health, create safer streets and cut carbon emissions.
PedalUK will set up, deliver and evaluate a 5‑cycle ‘Our Bike’ community‑led e‑cargo bike‑sharing pilot in Brighton and Hove. Emma Hughes, General Manager at PedalUK/OurBike, said: "This funding enables OurBike to launch and test our London e-cargo bike share scheme outside the capital in Brighton and Hove. Building on research from the University of Brighton and working with Brighton and Hove City Council and local partners, we are addressing the real barriers to e-cargo bike use by embedding bikes in communities and making everyday cycling more accessible and affordable for families and businesses carrying children, goods or equipment."
Walk Ride Greater Manchester will support the set‑up, coordination and scaling of walking and bike buses, helping hundreds of primary school children travel to school in a fun and active way.
Director of Walk Ride Greater Manchester, Harry Gray, said: "We’re delighted to have received funding from Active Travel England’s Innovation Fund to deliver a Walking and Cycling Bus Pilot across Manchester and Trafford.
"This funding enables us to provide a full-time project coordinator to grow and sustain walking and cycling buses at scale. Every child across Greater Manchester should have access to a safe, active travel route to school – walking and cycling buses are where that journey begins."
Go Jauntly is an award‑winning UK walking app that will use the funding to run a gamified city‑versus‑city campaign to increase walking and wheeling among women and families in Birmingham and Liverpool.
CEO at Go Jauntly, Hana Sutch, said: "At Go Jauntly, we believe walking and wheeling should feel accessible, safe and joyful for everyone, especially women and families who are often overlooked.
"Thanks to Active Travel England funding, we are expanding our behaviour change programmes to meet people in their own neighbourhoods, making everyday movement fun, easier and more inclusive."
Other funded projects include Mobility Mapper, a Bristol‑based intervention that will develop a digital mapping platform, accessed via an app, aimed at enabling wheelers to travel more safely and confidently.
Founder of Mobility Mapper, Sonya Ridden, said: "Active Travel England innovation funding is essential in helping Mobility Mapper begin mapping the routes wheelers can actually use. By creating a wheelable network built from real journeys, we will help people plan ahead with confidence, avoid unsuitable routes, make everyday wheeling easier and safer, and make active travel more inclusive."
