Government’s new transport strategy could be a turning point for cycling

Over many years, successive governments in England have taken a disjointed approach to planning our transport system, publishing strategies for each mode of transport in isolation, rather than considering the system as a whole.

The reality of this approach means that for many people public transport and cycling aren’t an option, so they are forced to rely on a car. It’s also left cycling out in the cold and considered a lower priority in the transport system.

Many of you spoke up for cycling and how it must be better integrated into the transport system, using our online guide to help you respond to the government’s public call for ideas for improving England’s transport system at the end of 2024.

Thanks to the weight of all our responses government has listened and produced a strategy which takes a bold new approach.

The new Better Connected strategy aims to turn transport planning on its head by focusing on integration and connection, and on people’s needs and how we actually get from A to B.

Ministers now want local leaders to do some ‘knitting’ – weaving together the individual transport threads – to make better connected places and ensuring joined-up journeys are possible, safer, easier and better for people.

Key priorities

Better Connected covers a lot of ground and includes many new and existing commitments; I can’t cover them all as my aim for this blog is to highlight what will make a difference for cycling.

However, to give a flavour of the scope it’s worth me listing the new strategy’s eight priorities, focusing on outcomes rather than specific transport modes, as follows:

• Simplifying journeys and improving reliability
• Enhancing affordability and accessibility
• Empowering local leaders to design transport solutions tailored to their areas
• Improving integrated ticketing and payment systems
• Providing accurate, real-time travel information
• Supporting innovation to remove barriers to travel
• Strengthening coordination across transport networks
• Ensuring safety and dependability across all modes

Let’s dig deeper to see what this means for people wanting to cycle or cycle more. Will it help to make cycle journeys the norm for more people?

Increased choice

We all love choice and have come to expect a good range of options on restaurant menus, in shops, from mobile phone providers, and even at elections (see our Elections 2026 campaign).

Sadly, for too many people when it comes to transport, they have little or no choice. Driving is the only real option they have for getting about. In rural areas 71% say they can’t get by without a car.

Helen McIntosh from Newcastle-upon-Tyne was a participant in Cycling UK’s Big Bike Revival and started cycling for her commute because there was little transport choice.

In Helen’s part of the city, public transport is sparse and unreliable. “I only had one bus in my area, and it was often late or didn’t show up,” she explained. This was especially frustrating for Helen, who has three children, a full-time job and is studying for a qualification, and therefore has little time to waste. “Sitting in traffic every day was really bothering me. I just wanted a change.”

Government says it wants to give people, like Helen, genuine transport choice. The strategy aims to make alternatives to private car use more attractive, affordable and accessible.

That will mean that councils need to listen to cycle campaigners and people like Helen, who explains that her experience of cycling could be even better with improved infrastructure. “Cycle paths should be joined up on main roads…the facilities near my work were a real eye-opener – we need more of that across the city.”

Easier multi-modal journeys

The new strategy promises better integration between modes of transport to make it simpler to use public transport, but it could make cycling easier too.

For example, by making it easier to cycle to a local train station, park your bike securely and jump on the train. Or walk to the bus stop, take the bus and then use a public hire bike for the last part of your journey.

Government is also planning to make ticketing simpler so that you pay once for a whole journey, or by having a single way to pay for all public transport, rather than needing multitude tickets or apps.

Healthier communities

The government wants healthier travel choices to be “easy and convenient”, and this is where cycling features highly in the strategy.

It places cycling at the centre of its vision for healthier communities and states: “We want to harness the power of transport as a lever for better public health by improving walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure to enable everyday physical activity.”

One of the eye-catching commitments is to change the law to allow councils to install “new, simpler zebra crossings that will make walking and wheeling easier, safer and more accessible”.

I discussed the benefits of these side road zebras in a recent blog and how they will help to reinforce the Highway Code changes which were introduced in 2021.

By making active travel easier and more convenient, it aims to reduce air pollution, noise and health inequalities. This isn’t just about transport – it’s about quality of life.

Making it a realistic option for more people to cycle could help tackle inactivity and improve health while also creating quieter, more liveable neighbourhoods.

Safer, better-quality infrastructure

The strategy also signals a significant cultural shift in how streets are designed and maintained. It makes clear that “pavements and cycle paths must be planned, maintained, and managed with the same priority as road infrastructure”.

This is a big deal. Cycling infrastructure has often been an afterthought – fragmented, poorly maintained or simply unsafe. The government is setting a clearer standard and upping its expectations of local authorities.

If delivered well, this could mean:

• More continuous, protected cycle routes
• Better maintenance of existing paths
• Safer junctions and crossings

In short, conditions that make cycling feel normal – not risky.

Busier streets

A major criticism of the new strategy is that it fails to prevent the growth of car use, which will make roads even busier than they are now.

Many towns and cities already feel overwhelmed by traffic but DfT’s own modelling predicts that traffic will increase by 10% between now and 2035, leading to even more congestion, delays, pollution and danger.

We know that busy roads and concerns about safety put people off cycling – especially women, which is why our ‘My ride. Our right’ campaign is so important.

We need less traffic and more cycling, but providing alternatives to driving, as discussed, and improving technology can only go so far: government must also commit to tougher measures which make driving a less attractive option.

Ambition to action

Cycling UK welcomes the government’s shift to focus on people, over the vehicles they use, and their recognition that cycling plays an essential part in creating well-connected places.

The broad range of measures that support this are welcome, including many priorities and commitments that Cycling UK has called for over the years. However, ambition alone won’t deliver change.

The real test will be whether this vision is backed by sustained funding, strong leadership and consistent delivery across England.

That consistency of delivery could be hampered by a lack of targets in the strategy. For example, the strategy says government will measure “Average number of walking, wheeling and cycling journey stages per year” but does not include a target to show what level of increase is expected or by when.

A lot will depend on the willingness and resources available to new Metro Mayors and leaders of ‘Strategic Authorities’ that will oversee transport across the regions.

But, by embedding cycling into the heart of transport planning, rather than treating it as an add-on, Better Connected opens the door to safer streets, healthier communities and more accessible travel for all.