The speech made by Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, in Manchester on 22 September 2026.
Good morning, everyone. And thank you, Chris [Boardman], for that introduction.
It’s really, really good to be here with so many of you this morning (22 September 2026).
I’ve often found myself in Manchester in recent months – I’ve no idea why – but somebody (perhaps that bloke called Andy [Burnham]) tells me it’s the place to be.
I also know there is a panel discussion later, so I won’t take up too much time in my opening remarks.
However, I did want to touch on briefly about the why, the how and the what of this government’s approach to active travel.
Why active travel matters – to me personally and to the government as a whole.
How we want to work with you.
And what we, and I mean all of us here, are delivering.
Personal reflections
So let’s start, as all good stories as they do, in Swindon – my hometown.
For me, it starts with a blue bike with a white basket and a set of very solid stabilisers – which was my first bike as a 3- or 4-year-old.
Now it won’t surprise anyone that, in the 1980s, the town which gave us 6 roundabouts in one (which is otherwise known as the magic roundabout) – wasn’t particularly cycle-friendly.
But it never really stopped me.
As a teenager, a bike gave me my first job.
Two early morning paper rounds, on my dad’s old road bike, with 2 massive orange bags nestled under either armpit, all done in the hours before college. I just wish I could get up those same hills now without stopping.
It gave me good health.
A way to clear my head out on the hills of the Ridgeway when I was doing my A-levels – a route I still do now but with the aid of an electric Brompton.
It gave me independence, which is at the heart of what I believe active travel is all about. And it gave me joy. It never really leaves you, does it?
It didn’t leave me in my 20s, when I cycled 7 miles across London when I first moved to our capital city to do a temp job, because I couldn’t afford the cost of a travel card.
It didn’t leave me as the Deputy Mayor of London, where, alongside Will Norman, I helped deliver segregated cycle lanes and lower speeds on some of London’s busiest roads.
People often ask me what I’m most proud of from my time working as Deputy Mayor of London and everyone always thinks I will say the Elizabeth line.
But I’m just as proud of delivering segregated cycling infrastructure on Cycleway 4 going down to Greenwich, which now gives thousands and thousands of people joy every day.
So my determination to deliver on active travel hasn’t left me.
Building the integrated transport network
And as Transport Secretary, I’m really serious about building that integrated transport network.
I’m really serious about increasing the use of public transport.
And if we’re serious about giving people the choice and the tools to get out and get on, then the days of active travel being an afterthought, or a bolt-on, must end.
Instead, I think we need to see walking, wheeling and cycling for what they are.
Essential parts of everyday journeys. That walk to the bus stop. Wheeling along a station platform. The cycle to work, to school, or to the shops.
It’s not about pitting one mode of travel against another. No one is declaring war on this or that. And you definitely won’t find me leading a charge of the lycra brigade.
I simply want to give people greater choice in their lives.
I want a coherent transport system where each stage of a journey complements the next.
Where accessibility is baked in. Where signage is clear and simple. Where all of us – from Olympians like Chris [Boardman] to fair-weather cyclists like me – feel confident and safe to choose the more active option.
Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Not necessarily.
Look outside here [Manchester] and you’ll see a city setting the benchmark.
The Bee Network
I truly believe that the Bee Network is devolution’s greatest success story.
And I’m not just saying that to flatter Chris, who was one of its main architects.
Nor to curry favour with my new boss, who was its biggest champion. But I say it simply because it’s true.
And let’s not forget, the Bee Network was originally the active travel plan for Greater Manchester.
Andy loved it so much he brought the rest of the transport network under its banner.
A one-stop shop for getting around this great city – and it started with a bold vision for active travel.
And just look at the results: 700 million active travel trips taken last year.
That’s almost a walk, a wheel or a cycle every working day for each resident.
And this isn’t by accident, but by design.
We’ve seen a surge in active travel where new safe routes have been completed.
Like on the Chorlton Cycle Way or on Oxford Road – showing the demand for active travel exists, we just need to give people a chance to realise it.
The future of active travel
Yes, that’s about better infrastructure – of course it is.
But it’s also about where the power to make decisions lies.
Decisions about pavement parking. Decisions about school streets. And it’s that ability to see and meet an area’s needs.
The small things national leaders are blind to, yet which are blindingly obvious to many of you. which is why I’ve always felt the levers of power must be held locally.
And I’m so pleased that devolutionary spirit runs through the latest cycling and walking investment strategy.
Delivered locally by mayors and councils. Supported nationally by Active Travel England.
The vision is simple: safe, easy, accessible choices for more people in more places.
Taken together, billions will be invested in active travel by 2030.
Most of that will be devolved to local government, meaning record multi-year funding to make good on their long-term plans.
And we must be ambitious.
At least 60% of children should be walking and cycling to school by 2035 – building on the landmark agreement we’ve signed with mayors to deliver 3,500 miles of footways, safer crossings and cycle lanes.
It’s why we are supporting local pilots, including for wayfinding, as we move towards a consistent national Active Travel Network.
And finally, it’s why, today, I can announce £104 million to transform the National Cycle Network. That means maintaining and expanding the 12,000-mile network.
Fixing bridges and updating signage. As well as developing new routes around the High Speed Two (HS2) line.
Heart of government’s vision
So let me finish with this.
I can think of few better ways to deliver on the Prime Minister’s vision than by going hell for leather on active travel.
Because when Andy talks of giving people hope, I see the millions of extra journeys we’re unlocking by foot, by cycle or wheels – journeys that connect us to jobs, to friends, to the things that matter most.
When Andy talks of places in which we’re proud to live, I see roads that are less congested and more safe. High streets with a new lease of life. Women and girls able to breathe a little easier when walking home alone.
And when Andy talks of Britain back on its feet, I see the sick days we avoid, the productivity we gain, and the burden we lift on the NHS – all by being more active.
In the end, active travel is more than just another way to get around.
It’s about connecting people with the lives they aspire to lead. While designing places in which we all aspire to live.
And so a conversation about footways, junctions and wayfinding ends up being a reflection on the type of country we want to be.
That’s why conferences like this matter.
It’s why the work all of you do matters so much.
And it’s why I am determined to work with you to put active travel at the heart of our transport network.
Thank you and enjoy the rest of the conference.
This is simply not good enough.