No change in active travel in Wales despite investment and infrastructure boost

Better evidence is needed to track Active Travel progress in Wales and ensure that there is value for money.

That is the view of the Auditor General, Adrian Crompton, in a new report released this week.

It found that despite a substantial increase in funding, the Welsh Government’s efforts to promote active travel- walking and cycling for everyday journeys – have yet to deliver the transformative impact envisioned under the Active Travel (Wales) Act of 2013.

In 2024-25, the Welsh Government allocated £65 million to active travel initiatives, with the Active Travel Fund serving as the largest component.

The Fund, launched in 2018, provides financial support to local authorities for developing infrastructure like cycling lanes and pedestrian walkways.

Over five years, total expenditure reached £218 million, rising from £20 million in 2018-19 to £46 million in 2023-24.

However, these financial investments have not translated into a marked increase in walking or cycling for everyday travel.

According to the latest figures, 51% of people in Wales walked at least once a week for active travel purposes in 2022-23. This is down from 60% in 2019-20.

Cycling rates have remained largely static, with just 6% of respondents saying that they cycle regularly.

These figures suggest that despite the large-scale investment into Active Travel the Welsh Government has yet to encourage widespread change.

The report identifies several areas where the current approach falls short.

The Auditor General found that target-setting is one key issue, with some local authorities struggling to integrate active travel into wider policies.

Additionally, the construction of physical infrastructure has not been matched by adequate efforts to promote awareness and behaviour change.

Without these softer interventions, such as public information campaigns, infrastructure improvements alone may not be enough to shift travel habits.

Auditor General Adrian Crompton commented on the findings, saying: “The Welsh Government needs to reflect on why, in over a decade, the Active Travel (Wales) Act and the arrangements to support delivery have not yet had the desired impact.

“Without better supporting evidence, the risk is that doing more of the same, including in how funding is prioritised, may simply produce the same results.

“The importance of being able to put value for money to the test through strengthened monitoring, evaluation, and reporting, reflects a recurring theme from my wider audit work.

“Without better supporting evidence, the risk is that doing more of the same, including in how funding is prioritised, may simply produce the same results.’

The report follows earlier criticisms from the Senedd’s Cross-Party Group on the Active Travel Act in 2022, as well as the Welsh Government’s Active Travel Board.

It calls for the government to deliver on its new delivery plan, which includes the development of a more rigorous monitoring and evaluation framework.

Commenting on the Auditor General’s findings Dr Dafydd Trystan, Chair of the Active Travel Board, said the report “highlights the challenges facing Welsh Government and its delivery partners to meet our collective active travel ambitions.”

Dr Trystan said: “Wales’ ambition to become an active travel nation is, without question, the right one.

“Its recent levels of funding can also be widely applauded. But Welsh Government can no longer ignore mounting evidence that its methods to meet that ambition are not where they need to be.

“The good news for Welsh Government is that the themes of this report reflect ours, which means that the recommendations we have laid out in our recent report towards successful delivery are sound.

“This includes changing the way it spends current funding and putting in place mechanisms, like improved data collation, in order to evidence significant modal shift.

“The Active Travel Board remains committed to working with Welsh Government and local authorities, and is hopeful that a collective redoubling of efforts will drive the behaviour change we all seek that will lead to healthier, more sustainable communities across Wales.”

 Natasha Asghar MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Transport Minister, added: “This report highlights the failure of Labour’s active travel strategy.

 “Clearly Labour’s current approach to active travel is not working, they cannot continue to waste hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money on the scheme without any significant change in people’s habits.

 “Instead of forcing people out of their cars for impractical journeys, like they have attempted to do with their 20mph speed limit policy, Labour must encourage people to walk and cycle manageable and safe routes.”