Active Travel England (ATE) has awarded £1m of innovation grants to 12 successful projects, ranging from e-cargo bike share schemes to community behaviour change programmes and 'gamified' walking campaigns.

Each of the projects will receive grants of up to £100,000 from the Active Travel Innovation Fund, which was launched in October last year to enable small and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs) and non‑governmental organisations (NGOs) to develop new ideas or expand successful initiatives.

Local transport minister, Lilian Greenwood, said: 'These projects show how innovation and entrepreneurship can deliver healthier journeys, safer streets and real benefits for communities across the country.

'On top of this, the Government is investing £626m for local authorities up to 2030 to deliver vital walking and cycling schemes, which is enough for 500 miles of new walking and cycling routes and 170,000 more active trips per day. This will also help boost local businesses, grow local economies and ease pressure on the NHS.'

Winning projects include Go Jauntly: an award‑winning UK walking app that will use the funding to run a gamified city‑versus‑city campaign to increase walking and wheeling among women and families in Birmingham and Liverpool.

There is also Walk Ride Greater Manchester, which will support the set‑up, co-ordination and scaling of walking and bike buses, helping hundreds of primary school children travel to school.

National active travel commissioner, Chris Boardman, said: 'These projects are about testing fresh ideas in the real world and finding out what works.

'By backing smaller, innovative organisations across the country, we are tapping into more imaginations, reaching people in the heart of the community and building a strong evidence base that will further improve everyday journeys for people who walk, wheel and cycle now and in the future.

'The lessons we learn will help councils, businesses and communities invest in approaches that are inclusive, practical and deliver tangible benefits. It's about making it easier for more people to choose active travel for everyday trips, whatever their age, ability or background.'

The full list of funded projects is as follows:

  • Manchester Bikes (£78,000) – Shared cycle scheme between Walkden railway station and RHS Bridgewater, run by local cycle shops to support car‑free, inclusive and sustainable access to major visitor destinations.
  • Walk Ride Greater Manchester (£98,923) – Network‑level walking and bike bus demonstrator, managed by a dedicated coordinator across Manchester and Trafford.
  • Go Jauntly (£92,508) – "This City Moves: Liverpool vs Birmingham", an app‑based behaviour change programme using friendly city‑to‑city competition to increase walking/wheeling among women and families in Birmingham and Liverpool.
  • Street Tag (£79,400) – Gamified digital programme to increase walking, wheeling and cycling across East London and the East of England, combining data insights and local storytelling.
  • Cal Commuter (£99,828) – "Active Connections", a digital platform helping NHS and public sector employees identify improved first/last‑mile active travel links to public transport across five areas.
  • Slow Ways (£62,657) – Exeter‑based demonstrator creating a verified network of trusted local routes that communities and local authorities across England can replicate.
  • PedalUK (£99,819) – OurBike e‑cargo bike sharing pilot in Brighton & Hove, delivered with the City Council and the University of Brighton, to be evaluated as a community‑led scheme.
  • Simply Cycling (£80,800) – "Ride Well, Work Well", a health‑ and employment‑focused community campaign partnering job clubs, councils and health services to reduce transport, health and employment barriers through cycling.
  • Capital of Cycling (£100,000) – Bradford‑based e‑cycling hub and toolkit to help organisations set up cycle libraries and loan schemes. CoMo UK (£86,345) – Pop‑up active travel mobility hubs in four areas of high deprivation to improve access to active travel and employment, focusing on people not in employment, education or training (NEET).
  • Love to Ride (£60,980) – "The Missing Majority", expanding an established digital cycling platform to include walking and support more integrated journeys, trialled across four local authority areas.
  • Mobility Mapper (£100,000) – Bristol‑based app providing real‑time, data‑driven accessibility information to help wheelers travel more safely and confidently, including development of a mapping platform for accessible routes.