Sustrans is a registered charity founded in 1977 that aims to enable more people in the UK to walk, cycle or use public transport for more of their everyday journeys. The UK National Cycle Network was officially created in 1995 and has expanded massively since then. It now contains 12,600 miles of cycling and walking routes [1] with associated free local maps and leaflets, a mobile app, an online mapping facility showing routes around the country and a national map on sale for a small price. It is perhaps in association with this cycle network that the name Sustrans is most well recognised. However, the charity has plenty of other projects on the go too [2]:

• TravelSmart gives people the specific information they need (Individualised Travel Marketing) to be able to walk, cycle or use public transport more frequently. Projects have been successful – they have been shown to reduce car use by 10-14% wherever they operate whilst increasing the use of other forms of transport as intended. This leads to reductions in CO₂ emissions – Sustrans has estimated that a National TravelSmart programme targeting every household in the UK would save at least 900,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year.
• The Low Carbon Travel team work with policy makers, practitioners and the public to ensure that the need for people to change their travel behaviour in order reduce carbon emissions is understood and addressed. Sustrans believe that these changes need to be made urgently and this team work to gain wide recognition for all Sustrans does to deliver low carbon travel and ensure it is embedded in transport policy. They are also highlighting the need not only for less car-based travel, but for travel over shorter distances.
• Active Travel aims to help people in workplaces, universities and communities across the UK become more active through walking and cycling, thereby becoming healthier and helping to cut carbon emissions. The Active Travel Workplace Toolkit is available through the programme to help promote walking and cycling within organisations.
• Active Travel Consortium is a Big Lottery Fund supported partnership between various walking, cycling and health organisation, with Sustrans as the lead partner. The aim is to provide opportunities to become more active to 1.8 million people by 2012, for example by promoting walking and cycling to work and school. A Sustrans project within this is Bike It (see below).
• Bike It is Sustrans’ school cycling project, which places 60 expert Bike It officers in schools around the country to help over 120,000 children cycle (and walk) safely to school. Local feedback has been good and there are helpful resources on the project website, including safe routes to schools [3].
• Free your bike supplies a free info pack including details on choosing a bike, caring for it, cycling with children and good places to cycle.
• Connect2 is a national project to extend the National Cycling Network across the UK. New crossings and bridges are being created across busy roads, railways and rivers and being linked to the cycling and walking network. Sustrans has won awards for new schemes in Worcester and Burnley.
• Links to Schools has been connecting communities to schools since 2004 by providing safe walking and cycling routes, improving safety and health and reducing pollution and congestion.
• Safe Routes to Schools supplies information to anyone interested in school travel initiatives and arranges Action Days to provide free training to pupils, teachers, parents and school representatives.
• Free Range Kids has been running for 16 years and works with schools to encourage children to become more active and independent and spend more time outdoors. Lots of resources are available from the project website [4].
• Liveable Neighbourhoods implements the DIY Streets project, through which Sustrans works with local residents to make streets more oriented towards people and less towards cars. They aim to create and promote a high quality environment that encourages sustainable travel. Current projects are running in Haringey, Brixham and Southampton but anyone interested in creating a better balance between road users and others in their street can obtain a Guide to Creating your own DIY Street from Sustrans [5].
• GOAL (Greenways for the Olympics and London) aims to provide a network of high quality walking and cycling routes across London and is now part of London Greenways, a wider collection of walking and cycling route projects. GOAL was awarded the London 2012 Inspire Mark, for exceptional programmes inspired by the 2012 Olympic Games.
• Art & the Travelling Landscape works with artists, schools and communities to create pieces of art that can be visited by bike or on foot. They include landmark artworks, bridges, seating, gateways and waymarkers. Within this project, each new cycling or walking scheme created through Connect2 will also be part of the Portrait Bench, creating benches with portraits chosen by the local community behind them.

Sustrans has also been involved in international projects for many years, for example the European Cycle Network, EuroVelo. Projects are listed on the Sustrans International Projects webpage [6]. Lots more information and resources relating to all the projects mentioned are available from the Sustrans website.

[1] http://www.sustrans.org.uk/what-we-do/national-cycle-network

[2] http://www.sustrans.org.uk/what-we-do

[3] http://www.sustrans.org.uk/what-we-do/bike-it

[4] http://www.sustrans.org.uk/freerangekids

[5] http://www.sustrans.org.uk/what-we-do/liveable-neighbourhoods/diy-streets/diy-streets-resources-and-links

[6] http://www.sustrans.org.uk/what-we-do/international/international-projects