A row of public bikes in London

Summary

The focus of this work is to identify effective interventions to increase active travel (walking, cycling and public transport) as a means of increasing physical activity levels, reducing overweight, decreasing air pollution and contributing to a low carbon future globally. 

Research focus

  • Identifying effective interventions to increase active travel
  • Learning from natural experiments conducted internationally to increase active travel

Research topics

  • We undertook an  of the free bus pass for older people in England. 
  • We used nationally representative data over 25 years to . 
  • We have a major  examining the potential for Road User Charging to change travel patterns and improve health.
  • We have been involved in a range of research on the impacts of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods in England, including their impacts on ,  and . 

Country focus: England, Brazil, India

Project example

Our  of commute mode and health over 25 years used data from the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study of England and Wales, which linked the Census of England and Wales for 1991, 2001, and 2011 to mortality and cancer registrations. It found that people who cycled to work were at reduced risk of death and those who walked to work had a reduced risk of cancer. This contributes to our knowledge by having a longer term follow up than many other studies.