Green travel on the rise as Essex heads into 2025

Review of the year reveals sustainable travel growing across the county.

Sustainable transport schemes saw large uptake across 2024 as Essex County Council prioritises Active Travel in 2025.

Active Travel encourages greener ways of travelling for shorter journeys, or as part of longer ones, with infrastructure and training.

Across 2024 the council has helped facilitate:

• cycling training for over 6,000 pupils across 256 Essex schools as part of the government’s Bikeability programme
• three million e-scooter rides in Basildon, Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester since the trial began in December 2020, replacing 593,508 car trips and displacing 109 tons of CO2
• 70 electric vehicle charging points installed across Essex
• 21 railway events for over 1,200 passengers as part of the Essex & South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership, including seaside trips from Colchester to Walton-on-the-Naze and a music train to the Harwich Shanty Festival.
• cycling infrastructure in Braintree, Chelmsford, Colchester and Harlow with cycle paths, signage, signalised crossings and wider pavements

Councillor Tom Cunningham, Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Sustainable Transport at Essex County Council, said: “You can see why sustainable transport and Active Travel will remain a top priority for the council as we head into 2025.

“Thank you to the residents of Essex for embracing Active Travel and the wide-ranging benefits it brings to our environment, health and economy.”

More information about sustainable transport and Active Travel in Essex is available at www.letstalkessexsustainabletravel.co.uk.