The promotion of active travel is one of the most effective ways to promote physical activity because it can be built into people’s daily lives. There is evidence from around the world, reviewed in Health on the Move 2 that people who commute by walking or by cycle are healthier than people who commute by car, and that those who commute by public transport have rates intermediate between the two, because of the walk to the station or bus stop.
If physical activity were a drug then the range of its benefits on mental well being, mental illness, heart disease, obesity, diabetes and osteoporosis is such that no politician would dare withhold those benefits from the public. At a time when the NHS struggles to cope with the pressures of mental illness, obesity and diabetes, it is financially irresponsible to fail to promote physical activity.
Transport has an important role in physical activity and to fully develop that role it is necessary to - develop walkable neighborhood’s so that people can make short journeys on foot. The walkability of a neighborhoods is a combination of security, aesthetic attractiveness and the distance on foot between different facilities, heart disease rates have shown to be lower in mixed neighborhood’s where workplaces, housing and shops mingle rather than being widely separated.
- Develop cycle networks which allow people to make medium length journeys by cycle without mingling with heavy traffic on busy main roads.
- Promote the train/cycle combination as a transport mode competitive with the car for longer journeys.
- The walkability of a neighborhoods is a combination of security, aesthetic attractiveness and the distance on foot between different facilities, heart disease rates have shown to be lower in mixed neighborhood’s where workplaces, housing and shops mingle rather than being widely separated.