Glasgow Eco Trust signs up to Joint Active Travel Manifesto

Glasgow Eco Trust joins over 50 organisations from across Scotland that have come together to urge all political parties to enable more people to walk, wheel or cycle, ahead of the run up to the 2026 Holyrood election.

The ‘Joint Active Travel Manifesto for 2026’, supported by a range of health, environmental and road safety organisations, calls for parties to commit to multi-year budgets, link public transport and improve road safety, in order to build on ongoing success and bring the benefits of walking, wheeling and cycling to more people.

From helping to reduce Scotland’s carbon emissions to improving public health and supporting local economies, the manifesto highlights some of the many benefits that active travel brings, calling on parties to pledge to support five key commitments on continued national investment, long-term funding, infrastructure, linking active and public transport, and creating safer streets.

1. Investment: provide long term investment to transform our local high streets andcommunities, committing at least 10% of the transport budget to active travel funding.

2. Long-term commitment: Multi-year budgets to accelerate delivery of nationalstrategies on walking/wheeling and cycling, offer better value for money and givemore people access to active travel regardless of income and background.

3. Infrastructure: Transform our communities, enabling anyone, especially youngerpeople – to travel more safely on foot, by wheeling or by bike. Including through wellmaintained, accessible networks of walking or cycling routes and reorganised streetspace, creating better, greener local places.

4. Link active and public transport: Integrate walking and cycling infrastructure withpublic transport in rural areas especially, to provide alternatives to the car. Reducingcongestion for all and effortlessly linking longer journeys.

5. Safety: Reduce road danger by reducing traffic speeds in our communities, by taking dangerous drivers off the road and by creating more accessible streets for all:implementing the pavement parking ban, reinforcing the new Highway Code and making welcoming spaces everyone can use and enjoy.

Read the manifesto