Modeshift, a not-for-profit membership body seeking to support, inspire, and champion individuals and organisations to improve everyday journeys, has released its Annual Reports for 2024/25, revealing “significant growth in active travel across England”.
The findings from both the Modeshift STARS and Active Travel Ambassadors (ATA) programmes demonstrate that peer-led initiatives and accredited Travel Plans are successfully increasing walking, wheeling, and cycling in schools and communities nationwide and reducing car dependency.
Modeshift believes that communities are healthier, wealthier, and more inviting when people are given the opportunity to walk, wheel, ride, and use public transport for their everyday journeys. Modeshift supports, inspires, and champions individuals and organisations that are working to deliver interventions and strategies to improve everyday journeys.
Modeshift STARS empowers organisations to enhance everyday journeys by creating, delivering, and measuring the impact of their Travel Plans, all while working towards national accreditation.
Key findings from the 2024/25 Modeshift STARS report include:
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Since 2008, 8,733 Modeshift STARS accreditation applications have been awarded to sites that have delivered effective Travel Plans across the four schemes: STARS Education, STARS Business, STARS Residential, and STARS Healthcare. In 2024/25 alone, 1,257 STARS accreditation applications were approved, including 1,101 education sites.
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Data for 802 schools, representing more than 318,000 pupils, revealed that 52.14% of pupils use an active mode (walk, wheel, cycle, scoot) of travel for the journey to and from school. Meanwhile, 64.65% identified an active travel mode as their preference, with just 17.15% stating that they preferred to be driven to school.
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In 2024/25, 14,166 school-led initiatives were delivered involving over 2.5 million participants.
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Schools recorded an additional 978,796 active travel stages (a distinct part of a journey) over the academic year. Crucially, the programme has resulted in 2,579,833 fewer car trips on the school run annually.
Funded by Active Travel England as a pilot project since 2022, the ATA programme has been growing steadily across England. The 2024/25 academic year marked the third year of the ATA programme and saw 30% more schools taking part compared to the previous year, and 67% more young people engaged as Active Travel Ambassadors.
The ATA programme aims to increase levels of active and sustainable travel in secondary schools nationwide through peer-led behaviour change campaigns.
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In 2024/5, the team trained 1,246 students as Ambassadors, reaching a total student population of 110,906.
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80 student-led campaigns were delivered this year, promoting walking (19), cycling (16), or a combination of both (45).
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The programme delivered a 0.87 percentage point shift to Green modes and a 2.82 percentage point decrease in single-family car journeys.
Both reports highlight the cost-effectiveness of these interventions. The modal shift achieved through the STARS programme was delivered at a cost of just £0.28 per active travel stage. Similarly, the ATA programme demonstrated excellent value, with a cost of £1.96 per active travel stage.
The reports showcase success stories from across the country, including Applefields School in York (National SEND School of the Year), where car use dropped by 8%, and Upper Batley High School, where walking rates increased from 14% to 52% over several years.
Nick Butler, Chief Operating Officer at Modeshift, said: ‘’These reports provide clear evidence that well-designed, locally delivered programmes that focus on enabling and encouraging walking, wheeling, cycling, and public transport can be extremely effective.
‘’Through Modeshift STARS and Active Travel Ambassadors, schools, businesses, organisations and communities are improving everyday journeys, reducing car dependency, and delivering exceptional value for money.
‘’The scale of engagement we’re seeing shows that when people are supported to make healthier and safer travel choices, they do so. We are looking forward to growing the number of people involved and delivering better journeys for more people.’’
About Modeshift
Modeshift supports, inspires, and champions individuals and organisations working to deliver interventions and strategies that improve everyday journeys. Over 800 industry professionals are registered with Modeshift across the public, private and third sectors. The organisation is a not-for-profit membership body governed by a voluntary Executive Board.
