The Urban Transport Group (UTG) has published a new report highlighting the crucial role of walking, wheeling and cycling in creating genuinely integrated transport networks.
The report highlights how every public transport journey starts and ends with a local trip. Whether travelling by bus, tram or train, people need to be able to walk, wheel or cycle from their home to a stop or station to reach their destination.
Walking and cycling account for one in three of all journeys, increasing to almost half of journeys under five miles in towns and cities. But the report finds that many everyday routes remain unattractive, inconvenient or may feel unsafe because active travel has historically been under-prioritised in terms of funding, policy focus and street space.
The report comes as the Government aims to increase active travel, with the third cycling and walking investment strategy (CWIS3) setting a target for more than half (55%) of all short journeys in towns and cities to be walked or cycled by 2035.
UTG’s report sets out practical recommendations to improve local transport connectivity, including enabling wider use of low-cost non-prescribed zebra crossings, supporting local authorities to reduce pavement parking using new enforcement powers introduced under the Devolution Act 2026, and embedding best practice in street design through an updated Manual for Streets.
The report also calls for broadening highways maintenance funding to include footpaths and cycle infrastructure, providing better safety measures including well-maintained pavements, safer road crossings and more crossing points, and using long-term revenue funding to help local authorities unlock greater value from capital investment and deliver integrated networks.
Jason Prince, Director of the Urban Transport Group, said: “If we want truly integrated public transport, we need to focus on the whole trip, from doorstep to destination. When people cannot safely or easily walk, wheel or cycle to a stop or station, public transport becomes less accessible and less attractive.
“Our report shows how small, practical steps can improve local connectivity, making sustainable travel a more realistic choice for more people and helping to create a better connected transport network.”
