In Scotland, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Fiona Hyslop has announced that the Scottish Government will be allocating a further £10 million to the Active Travel Infrastructure Fund in 2024-2025.

Funding is used to support projects designed to promote walking, wheeling and cycling for short everyday journeys.

So far, funding has been awarded to projects such as Connecting Woodside and the proposed transformation of Dundee’s Bell Street multi-storey car park into a multi-modal, sustainable transport hub.

Earlier in the year, sustainable transport alliance, Transform Scotland, criticised the Scottish Government for failing to meet their commitment to ‘ensure that at least £320 million or 10% of the total transport budget goes on active travel by 2024-25’. 

Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, the assembly have passed the Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes (VETS) Amendment Order 2024, which will come into effect in January 2025.

It is hoped that the legislation will encourage the sale of zero emission vehicles in Northern Ireland.

Minister O’Dowd said: 

‘As we are a mainly rural community, the uptake of zero emissions vehicles will be the key to decarbonisation’.

CIHT welcomes measures to promote sustainable travel, identified as a key strategic objective in our manifesto A Transport Network Fit for All Our Futures. 

For more information about the importance of ensuring that efforts to decarbonise transport do not exacerbate or create new inequalities, see CIHT’s latest policy brief- Ensuring a Just Transition to Net Zero. 

Further resources

Further £10 million confirmed for Active Travel Infrastructure Fund in 2024-2025 | Transport Scotland

O’Dowd welcomes the passing of key driver for decarbonisation of transport by the Assembly | Department for Infrastructure (infrastructure-ni.gov.uk)

A Transport Network Fit for All Our Futures | CIHT

Ensuring a Just Transition to Net Zero | CIHT