December update

A Landmark Night for Bikeability at the National Travel Awards! 

I’m thrilled to share that Bikeability programmes and people were recognised with THREE national awards at this year’s Team Modeshift National Travel Awards. It was a fantastic moment for our whole community of instructors, training providers, local authorities and partners and was a real celebration of the innovation, leadership and collaboration that make Bikeability what it is. 

The Bikeability Club website won Innovative Active Travel Project of the Year, recognising our work to support families well beyond the training session through games, challenges and resources that build confidence at home. East Riding of Yorkshire Council were recognised for their outstanding use of our immersive training programme, taking home the Education Engagement Project of the Year and highlighting how technology can help more young people experience real-world cycling scenarios safely. And in a lovely surprise, I was honoured to receive the award for Individual Contribution to Sustainable Travel, an achievement I share with all of you who deliver and champion Bikeability every day. 

These awards belong to our entire Bikeability family. They are a reminder of the incredible impact you make in communities across England and the importance of education and innovation in shaping a healthier, more sustainable future. Thank you to everyone involved, and to Team Modeshift for recognising the work we all care so deeply about. 

Donate now to help us Keep the wheels turning! 

I’m so pleased to share that we’ve launched a new fundraising campaign ‘Keep the Wheels Turning’ to strengthen the vital work happening behind the scenes at Bikeability! 

From research and advocacy that champion safer roads to our ongoing work with government to secure cycling as a key public health priority, this campaign will help us continue driving the national conversation forward. 

Every donation directly supports the essential costs that keep our programmes effective, inclusive and sustainable, ensuring we can continue empowering more people to choose cycling with confidence. 

If you’re able to, please go ahead and donate now if you’re passionate about what we do. 

Influencing the Next Steps for Active Travel  

The government has opened its consultation on the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS3), outlining the national direction for improving and investing in active travel. It’s centered around two core objectives 1. Ensure people are safe to travel actively. 2. Ensure people feel it is an easy choice. 

In our response, we’ve highlighted several priorities that we believe are essential for creating meaningful, lasting change: 

• Embed inclusivity and representation across the strategy. Focus on ‘accessible’ rather than ‘easy’. Ensure diverse representation so that the benefits of active travel are distributed across different groups of people. 

• Shift the focus from reducing fear to building confidence. Empower people to feel capable and supported in making active travel choices. 

• Introduce an objective centered on motivation for active travel. Encourage walking and cycling as essential components of healthier, more sustainable mobility. 

• Define success with measurable progress indicators. Set clear, quantifiable targets and align them with broader government objectives to track impact effectively. 

• Clarify CWIS3’s role in the next steps. Explain how its goals will be implemented in practice and how national-level support will enable local delivery. 

I’m feeling confident that Bikeability can help turn this ambition into real progress. 

We celebrate our 18th Birthday! 

This winter, we’ve been marking a very special milestone, Bikeability has turned 18! We are now officially “old enough to train as a Bikeability instructor” and it’s been a brilliant moment to reflect on the scale of what we’ve achieved together. Since 2007, nearly six million children have taken part in Bikeability training, clocking up more than 21 million hours on their bikes, that’s equivalent to around 900,000 days of confident cycling with instructors by their side. 

To celebrate, we’ve run a series of birthday activities across the charity. We launched a fantastic HOY Bikes giveaway on social media and shared a fun Bikeability Club birthday puzzle for children and families in our Bikeability newsletter. 

Make sure to keep a look out on social media for our 18th birthday video to reflect on the journey so far and to highlight our need for support as we look to the future.