Healthy Travel Charters: Supporting Healthier, Greener Travel in Wales

Dr Tom Porter, July 2025

Anchor organisations - particularly large public sector employers such as NHS bodies, local authorities and other statutory partners - have a significant influence on how people travel through their roles as employers, estate holders, and system leaders. The Healthy Travel Charters in Wales illustrate how anchor institutions can work collectively, through place-based partnerships, to shape healthier, more sustainable travel behaviours for staff and visitors, while contributing to wider goals on health improvement, reducing inequalities and decarbonisation.

1. What was the challenge or opportunity being addressed?

The current transport system has significant and widespread impacts on health. These include normalising sedentary behaviour; injuries and deaths from collisions; increasing social isolation; air pollution; and contributing to climate change.

In 2017, Dr Tom Porter edited a report setting out the evidence base for the link between transport and health. The report made a series of recommendations at a strategy and policy level in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan to address these challenges.

The report was presented to the Cardiff Public Services Board (PSB), where a central question was posed: “What can public bodies in Cardiff do to help address this problem?” This framing highlighted the potential role of large public sector organisations – including health, local government and other anchor institutions – in shaping travel behaviours through their employment practices, estates, procurement and influence.

2. What was done in response, and who was involved?

In response, a task and finish group was established for Cardiff PSB members to explore what actions PSB organisations could take on transport. This group included the local Council, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Natural Resources Wales, Transport for Wales, the Senedd (as an employer in Cardiff), Police, Fire and Rescue, and the Welsh Ambulance Service.

This work led to the development of the Cardiff Healthy Travel Charter, followed by a Charter in the Vale of Glamorgan. The Healthy Travel Charters set out a series of commitments that signatory organisations make to help make it easier for staff and visitors to walk, cycle, take public transport, and decarbonise private car journeys.

The Welsh Government subsequently asked for the Charters to be rolled out across Wales. This process has continued over several years, with the final area (Cwm Taf Morgannwg) launching its Charter in July 2025.

Charters have been co-produced in each area with public bodies, working through PSBs and led by a local co-ordinator. The Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (previously called Sustrans) has supported the development and implementation of a number of the Charters. Throughout, the approach has recognised the importance of large employers and public sector anchors in modelling good practice and enabling healthier travel choices at scale.

3. What progress or impact has been achieved so far?

All areas across Wales now have a Healthy Travel Charter, with the majority of public bodies signed up to a Charter.

The Charters feature in Welsh Government policy, including the implementation plan for the national transport strategy and the current national decarbonisation budget. A number of supporting resources have been developed, including a communications toolkit and an implementation toolkit.

Some organisations in Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan, Swansea and Gwent have now completed all the commitments in the initial Charter. In response, a ‘Level 2’ Charter was developed for these organisations, supporting continued ambition and improvement.

A Business Charter has also been developed for the private sector. However, it was launched shortly before the pandemic and uptake has been relatively low.

Work is now underway with Public Health Wales, Transport for Wales and Welsh Government to agree the approach to the next phase of the Charter. This will include a tripartite national steering group to set out a common ‘offer’ to employers across Wales on sustainable travel for their staff, helping to consolidate and streamline the approach and further support large employers and anchor organisations to act.

4. What learning or recommendations would you share with other organisations?

• Engage regional and local partnerships early. Whether through Public Services Boards in Wales, Local Resilience Forums, Integrated Care Boards, or combined authorities in England, working with established multi-agency forums can provide both governance and a ready-made network of partners.

• Leverage enabling legislation and national frameworks. Policies such as the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act, national decarbonisation strategies, or local health and transport priorities can support, legitimise, and champion cross-organisational initiatives.

• Be persistent and patient. Interest and capacity to engage fluctuates over time, often for reasons unrelated to the quality of the project. Staying positive, gently persistent and patient is important.

• Be flexible. There is not always a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Co-production of the Charters in each area was important to ensure local voices and priorities were included, helping to increase engagement.

• Build in evaluation from the outset. While evaluation was planned as the Charters rolled out, the pandemic removed the support and resource to put this in place. Evaluation will be built into the next phase and is essential to understand what works and what does not as a project evolves.

Why this matters for health anchors

For health anchor organisations, travel policies and practices directly affect workforce wellbeing, access to employment, health inequalities and progress towards net zero commitments. The Healthy Travel Charters show how anchors can use their scale, influence and convening power to make healthier and more sustainable travel choices easier for staff and visitors, while aligning organisational action with wider place-based health and decarbonisation goals.

Find out more about the Health Travel Charters at this link.