Overview

The Scottish Government has committed to spending at least £320m or 10% of the total transport budget in 2024‑25. With this increase in funding, Scotland requires a corresponding step‑change in social norms and attitudes towards active travel, a paradigm shift in all of society through enhancing knowledge and understanding of, and appreciation for, the multiple benefits of regular physical activity, according to ability and at all ages. It was thought the role of an independent Ambassador for Active Travel might help achieve this shift.

Between June 2022 and September 2023 I worked two days per week as Ambassador for Active Travel; an independent of government public engagement role that focused on championing diverse and inclusive participation in active travel and active travel decision- making. This was deemed of importance so as to ensure the Scottish Government takes the public with them in shaping the green transport revolution they have committed to deliver.

My objectives were to provide a strong, trusted, and impartial voice and take a lead on broadening and deepening the public conversation on active travel. While an increase in active travel will positively impact our health, wealth and climate, of these three benefits, I chose to focus my attention on how our well-being stands to gain, and social inequalities stand to be reduced, by embracing active travel measures.

I did this by:

• Exploring creative, inclusive and engaging ways of broadening and deepening the public conversation on Active Travel in Scotland.
• Providing a link between Transport Scotland’s Access to Bikes Team and relevant specialist stakeholders (in particular young people and people from poorly represented communities who might benefit the most from having access to a bike) so that policy makers could ensure their solutions were fit for purpose.
• Acting as a conduit for lesser heard voices to provide an independent and user-based perspective on Active Travel delivery to participants in the Active Travel Transformation Project (ATTP) and give voice to the real-world impacts that the quality of delivery has on people.

In practise this meant:

• Developing communication campaigns to engage a younger/different audience.
• Producing engaging, relatable podcasts, short films and comic strips.
• Developing mutually trusting relationships with small panels of people whose voices would otherwise be hard to hear, to then relate policy proposals to them in plain language before delivering their thoughts and opinions directly back to people in power.
• holding active meetings where possible and fulfilling my Ambassador responsibilities by travelling only by foot, bike or public transport.