Active Travel Challenge

Employers across Northern Ireland are being asked to sign-up to the Active Travel Challenge for a healthier and more environmentally-friendly commute.

We’ve teamed up with the Department for Infrastructure, Public Health Agency and Sustrans to launch the new travel initiative.

Throughout June, employers can encourage staff to leave the car at home and walk, cycle or take public transport for some of their journeys to, from and during work. Participants log their ‘active travel’ journeys online and can compete with colleagues and other companies to see who makes the most journeys.

• A four metre-wide road lane can move 800-1100 people in cars per hour, compared to 5,000 -10,000 people on bikes. The most efficient use of road space is by bus which can move 8,000 – 12,000 passengers (The Belfast Bike Life Report 2017).

• People who take the bus walk 2.5 time further than those who use the car and are 1/3 less stressed (Greener Journeys)

• Regular cycling cuts the risk of premature death from any cause by 41%, the incidence of cancer by 43% and heart disease by 46% - compared to a non-active commute (University of Glasgow study 2017)

• People cycling saves the NHS £8 million annually, equivalent to salaries of 343 nurses. (The UK Bike Life survey (2017))

• Every 2 full Gliders remove over 170 cars from the road saving 1km of congestion.

• #RoadShareNI Experiment: During Bus + Train Week 2018, 105 volunteers, 90 cars, two buses, one Glider vehicle and 50 bicycles, gathered in Belfast City Centre to demonstrate the advantages of sustainable travel in a bid to combat congestion in towns and cities here. Championed by Translink, a short ‘Road Share’ film was created to tell an important story about how transport choices impact the health, wellbeing and overall prosperity of everyone in Northern Ireland. Watch #RoadShareNI on YouTube.