Awards 2025

This award recognises projects and initiatives for business travel, developed by individuals and groups to promote and encourage active and sustainable travel. Projects can include those that involve multi-stranded elements of sustainable travel, e.g. Green Travel Weeks.

Winner:

Solent Travel Demand Management Programme, Southampton City Council and National Highways.

The Solent Travel Demand Management (TDM) programme was incepted in 2019 to mitigate the impact of National Highway’s (NH) M27 and M3 Smart Motorway construction works . National Highways funded a comprehensive programme designed to reduce peak time traffic & congestion, improve air quality,  increase active and sustainable travel and ensure long lasting change to people’s travel behaviours.

Lead by Southampton City Council on behalf of other LTAs, the programme engaged with businesses and organisations across southern Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton around minimising impact of the works for motorway users. The programme will end in September 2025 but notable successes include:

• A strong business networking forum (Workplace Travel Network) that meets quarterly and includes organisations across the Solent Region. Sharing of best practice and celebration of business successes.
• Partnership working to achieve programme objectives and promote long term collaboration between local authorities, stakeholders and businesses.
• £115k of match funded Workplace Travel Grants issued since programme inception to support sustainable travel initiatives in the region.
• Over 130 businesses directly engaged with, including 35+ large employers with over 50,000 staff in 2025. Officers visited businesses in person to run events and promote sustainable travel initiatives and offers.
• Programme legacy with travel planning embedded into businesses’ operations and strong working relationships across the region.
• Roll out of Modeshift for Business to support sustainable travel planning in Southampton.
• Large region wide campaigns to engage over 100,000 staff in the past few years.
• Development of a Solent wide My Journey car sharing scheme with Liftango and wide reach of cycling campaigns through Love to Ride.

Community Engagement Project of the Year – This award recognises projects and initiatives for travel in communities, developed by individuals and groups to promote and encourage active and sustainable travel. Projects can include those that involve multi-stranded elements of sustainable travel, e.g. Green Travel Weeks.

Winner:

Telford Bike Hub – Travel Telford, Telford & Wrekin Council

Telford Bike Hub operates from Telford Town Park in the heart of the borough, bringing cycling and wheeling to the community. The hub has access to a fleet of 200 bikes and scooters (including e-bikes, adaptive bikes, and recycled bikes) used to deliver the following services:

• Learn to Ride – Group and 1-2-1
• Bikeability training
• Public bike hire
• Tailored adaptive bike sessions
• Re-wheeled cycle reuse scheme
• Dr Bike
• Guided rides
• Community events

Telford Town Park offers a traffic-free green space that is inviting and accessible to residents, but is also located on our wider walking and cycling network, enabling users to explore the borough from thier door steps.

The offer does not stop there; Telford Bike Hub is now on the road! Events vehicles have meant that services can be taken to communities, enabling access to cycling across the borough. They also attend events in the wider region, championing active travel to different audiences.

Since reopening in 2022 Telford Bike Hub has hired out over 5000 bikes, taught over 3000 children to ride, supported more than 2500 children to achieve Level 2 Bikeability, run weekly sessions with adaptive bike as well as 30 children in a SEND school achieve Bikeability Level 1.

This award recognises projects and initiatives for travel to and between education providers, developed by individuals to promote and encourage sustainable travel. Projects can include those that involve multi-stranded elements of sustainable travel, e.g. Green Travel Weeks.

Winner:

Little Mead Primary School, Bristol City Council

Little Mead Primary School are an outstanding school when it comes to the promotion of walking, wheeling, and cycling for everyday journeys. All active travel activities are led by a teacher called Pat, who is extremely passionate and has excelled in promoting active/sustainable modes of travel at the school. She has worked tirelessly to raise awareness and to educate the pupils, parents and staff at the school. A few of her achievements include:

• Maintaining Modeshift STARS accreditation for many years; the school have now applied for the Outstanding Modeshift STARS award.
• Working closely with Bristol City Council for many years incorporating behaviour change program of workshops, events, and assemblies
• Running successful campaigns and themed weeks such as ‘Bike it Day’ and ‘Healthy Schools Week’
• Embedding the Modeshift STARS behaviour change work into the school’s whole school ethos, values and priorities.
• Achieved a distinction in the Green Flag award, organised and maintained a successful ‘Walking Bus’ and contributed to local changes such as Southmead Action for Climate Change policy through workshops, giving the young people a voice in the community and the co-design greening in the local park.
• Leading an active ‘Eco Club’ of pupils who meet regularly, building their passion for such issues and enabling their contribution.
• Ensuring pupils take part in Bikeability each year
• Provides pupils with scooter training through Bristol City Council in order to overcome barriers that pupils may face.
• Her ‘Healthy Lifestyles Week’ has been a particular success each year and this year included a ‘Bike, Walk or Scoot to School Day’, Golden Lock Box reward program, Daily Mile, a bike/scoot around the playground session for every class, Dr Bike, Bling Your Bike competition, a Park Away Campaign including an anti-idling banner and children’s posters, a Walking Bus, a Cycle Count run by the ‘Eco Club’ and many more activities.

The school have now applied for the Outstanding award. They have achieved almost 70% of pupils travelling by Green Modes and seen a reduction in students travelling to the site by red modes in the last 4 years of <10% and an increase in green modes of travel for the entire journey of at least 5 percent in the last 4 years and >75% travel by green modes. The school have applied for a School Street scheme. The school aims to continue their work promoting active/sustainable modes of travel and this has become a huge part of the whole school ethos and values. She also plans to continue to raise awareness of environmental issues, to fundraise for a global issue, ‘Send My Friend to School’.

This award recognises projects and initiatives for travel to and between education providers, developed by groups to promote and encourage sustainable travel. Projects can include those that involve multi-stranded elements of sustainable travel, e.g. Green Travel Weeks.

Winner:

Immersive Reality Cycle Training, East Riding of Yorkshire Council

In 2024/25 the team were pivotal to an immersive reality classroom-based study in conjunction with Brunel University. Pupils completed a series of ‘Virtual Rides’ in which they viewed 360-degree footage filmed from a cyclist’s perspective on tablet devices. At relevant intervals the group paused to discuss the journey, potential hazards and how to address these in a traffic environment.

In 6 months, the team has successfully delivered this training in 13 secondary schools, to 2644 pupils over 106 sessions. This project has also helped drastically increase the team’s engagement with secondary schools across the area.

This award recognises projects and initiatives delivered within healthcare settings, developed by individuals and groups to promote, and encourage active and sustainable travel. Projects can include those that involve multi-stranded elements of sustainable travel, e.g. Green Travel Weeks.

Winner: 

UHB Greener Journeys: Supporting Staff and Patients through Free Bus Travel, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) partnered with Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) to encourage bus use among staff and patients. They now offer four weeks’ free bus travel to all new starters and existing staff who don’t currently use the bus, with application windows opening every three months. Patients in financial need can also access four weeks’ free travel to support hospital attendance.

Working with TfWM, they developed processes, application forms, and promotional materials to embed the scheme. The model has since been adopted by other NHS Trusts in the West Midlands to promote sustainable travel choices and reduce car dependency. The initiative helps ease parking pressures, supports lower-income staff and patients, and contributes to reduced emissions across the region.

Since launch in July 2024, over 3,900 staff (including 2,613 new starters) and 268 patients have used the scheme, generating more than 163,000 bus journeys and delivering measurable carbon savings. From a previous project with National Express, they achieved a 42% conversion rate, with new starters continuing bus use after the free pass. Similar outcomes are expected, but no onward purchase data for this scheme is yet available. Future plans include expanding promotion, encouraging ongoing bus use, and sharing learning with other NHS Trusts.

This award recognises and celebrates the efforts being made by individuals and groups to work in partnership with education providers, businesses and community groups, to promote and encourage active and sustainable travel.

Winner:

Southwark Cycling Partnership, Southwark Council, JoyRiders, Peddle My Wheels, Community Cycle Works, PWLC Projects, Met Police, BetterPoints

The Southwark Cycling Partnership is a powerful, borough-wide collaboration bringing together Southwark Council’s behaviour change team and six committed delivery partners: Peddle My Wheels, Community Cycle Works, JoyRiders, BetterPoints, PWLC Projects and the Met Police. Together, they provide free or low-cost access to bikes, inclusive cycle training, maintenance skills, rewards for active travel, and secure bike marking.

Over the past two years, the group has built a thriving, interlinked network where organisations cross-promote and signpost between services, co-host community events, and work strategically to engage residents who traditionally face barriers to cycling. This joined-up, human-first approach has led to increased participation in cycling across diverse age groups, genders and communities. The model is replicable, community-led, and a powerful example of sustained, equitable collaboration in urban active travel.

The partnership has already achieved impressive results:

• Increased monthly participation in cycling, repeat engagement across services, and a rise in referrals between programmes.
• Community events now reach new areas and demographics, with residents reporting improved access, confidence and motivation to travel actively.
• The Council has committed to three more years of funding, and partners are building stronger ties with businesses and town centre teams.
• Plans for 2025 include expanding the OurBike fleet across high streets, introducing TBYB vouchers for SMEs, and further integrating Forest access bikes into JoyRiders and BetterPoints offerings—helping those who cannot store a bike at home. These sustained, cross-sector efforts are now central to Southwark’s active travel strategy and behaviour change toolkit.

This award recognises projects and initiatives developed by any Team Modeshift member, be that an individual, team, or organisation within education, business, or community settings, to promote and encourage active travel.  Projects can include all active travel modes including walking, cycling, and scooting.

Winner:

Widening Participation in Cycling, Islington Council

In 2024/25, the Cycle Training Team delivered an extraordinary programme, with a record number of children (2,096) and adults (610) trained. As well as delivering Bikeability Level 1 to Y3 /Y4 and Level 2 to Y5/Y6, they delivered Bikeability Balance in children’s centres to Y1/Y2 and Level 3 in secondary schools. The team also took on an innovative programme of widening projects that they procured and delivered. Iyke, Patrycja and Maryam skillfully led the in-house team of instructors and several specialist third-party organisations to achieve positive outcomes for residents.

The widening projects include:

• Elderly cycling with adaptive cycles
• All ability cycling
• Cycle passenger service for people with mobility restrictions
• A women’s cycling programme
• GP-accessed social prescribing bike loans
• Affordable bike purchase scheme – child, adult bikes, e-bikes, cargo bikes and adaptive cycles

In 2024/25 these projects delivered 1,767 inclusive cycling experiences.

To promote our wider offer, the team held an active travel festival on Car Free Day, featuring 32 free attractions, including:

• All ability cycling
• Led rides and walks
• Dr Bike
• Crazy bikes

The programme is reaching underrepresented groups and is addressing barriers:

• 77% of elderly cycling participants are 60+
• 79% of participants in our women’s programme from BAME backgrounds
• 77% of social prescribing users identified affordability as the main barrier to cycling

This work helps address health and physical activity inequalities, improves road safety and ensuring everyone – no matter the age, gender, background or ability – can get active and enjoy our infrastructure improvements, such Liveable Neighbourhoods, School Streets and cycle lanes. They gained additional funding to maintain the high level of child training and continue several of the widening projects over the next two years:

• Elderly cycling
• All ability cycling
• Women’s cycling
• Social prescribing bike loans

They are currently developing sponsorship opportunities that would boost the level of child and adult training to new record levels.  Funding is also being sought to reinstate the cycle passenger service and to support other new areas to widen delivery and make it more accessible. Plans include building a case study with data to demonstrate the reach and impacts of this work.

This award recognises and celebrates individuals or organisations who have delivered projects and initiatives that have shown innovation in the promotion of sustainable and active travel.  Submissions will be assessed based on the project or initiative’s originality, impact, scalability and sustainability benefits.

Winner:

Bikeability Club website, The Bikeability Trust

In October 2024, The Bikeability Trust launched the Bikeability Club website, an interactive hub for children who’ve done Bikeability and their grown-ups to continue their training online. 

The website offers personal feedback to children after they complete their Bikeability cycle training, including specific feedback from their Bikeability instructor, as well as fun and engaging opportunities to embed cycling habits. Through educational activities, quizzes, challenges and opportunities to earn digital badges – from riding at night to pumping up tyres – the site encourages learning retention, post-programme engagement and a lifelong positive attitude to cycling.

Since its launch, over 100,000 children and their parents have accessed the website and this number continues to grow as more children complete Bikeability across the country.  In the future, over 500,000 children a year will have the opportunity to access and engage with the website and the plethora of retention activities, designed to embed healthy cycling habits.

This award recognises an individual who has shown exceptional growth and promise, and who has demonstrated excellence in their work, the industry and amongst their peers.

Winner:

Jack Sheldrake, Buckinghamshire Council

Jack joined the Council as an apprentice aged 16. On completing his apprenticeship, Jack has secured a role as a Transport Planning Technician and was shortlisted as a finalist for the Council’s annual staff awards in 2024.

Jack has positively represented the Council during our recent consultation on the Buckinghamshire-wide Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) where Jack held market stall events across Buckinghamshire, speaking passionately about active travel with over 100 people. Jack’s efforts helped us achieve over 600 consultation responses, with our consultation approach highlighted as best practice.

As part of his work on travel planning, Jack has also played a key role in ‘driving’ forward the Council’s Eco Driving project, working with consultants PJA to recruit, engage and support over 40 small businesses across Buckinghamshire to develop a travel plan. Jack confidently presented on this project’s successes at the 2024 Modeshift Convention.

Through the Buckinghamshire LCWIP consultation, over 600 responses were received. The breadth of responses helped to provide decision makers with insight to respondent’s travel behaviours and assured them of the desire for more active travel infrastructure, resulting in the Buckinghamshire LCWIP being adopted as policy and shaping the Council’s future approach. The consultation approach, blending in-person events, online surveys and webinars and stakeholder engagement has been highlighted as best practice and will shape future consultations.

As a result of the Eco-driving project, we now have over 40 small businesses registered and engaged in developing and implementing travel plans for their workplaces, supporting staff to travel sustainably. Jack developed his technical skills by training travel plan co-ordinators in using Modeshift STARS (including writing guidance) and gained confidence skills by presenting on this project at the 2024 Modeshift Convention.

This award recognises a team or organisation for the successful delivery of sustainable travel solutions for those attending a mid to large size venue or event during the last 12 months.  Submissions must show how active and sustainable travel was considered before, during, and after the occasion/location in question. Mid to large size means an occasion/location attracting 5,000 or more fans/spectator/audience at one time and can relate to the sports, entertainment, cultural or related sector.

Winner: 

Ashton Gate Event Days, Ashton Gate Stadium

Ashton Gate is home to Bristol City FC, Bristol Bears Rugby and last season also hosted England Women & England Men U21 football, England A rugby and four concerts.

The stadium has launched numerous initiatives to incentivise active travel and shared travel. Last season

• Subsidised buses transported fans a collective 662,856km with free travel for feature games
• Free bike repairs were offered at six events with lights and reflectors given away. A free bike pump is provided with cycle maps and journey planners advertised – showing distances, surface, elevation and parking options
• A walking map highlighted points of interest along pedestrian routes
• A club car-pooling platform was launched
• Additional trains were provided from the nearest station at 60 events
• Fans could use a special e-bike parking area at the ground
• Public bus info such as maps and journey planners were promoted
• Sustainable travel choices were pushed using website, social media, stadium posters and pre-match emails

In the last six years the number of shuttle bus drop-offs pre-match has increased from 17 to 31. Alongside attractive pricing such as the £1 off-peak return has seen patronage treble since 2018.

The lack of ticket barriers at Parson St station mean we don’t have exact figures on fans using train, however our collaboration with GWR has seen the number of additional event day trains nearly quadruple from 16 in 2022/23 to 56 last season. Fan surveys suggest rail use to games has trebled in the last ten years.

Snapshot surveys of bike parking at Ashton Gate have shown a 58% increase in just the last two years (123% up on 2018).

Bristol City Men’s team have scored 10/10 for travel in their last six EFL reports.

In the next few months they aim to release a new video promoting sustainable and shared travel options to supporters and produce a guide specifically for those with limited mobility. Plans for additional bus loading bays at Ashton Gate will be delivered within the new few years.

This award recognises teams that have made a significant contribution to sustainable travel locally or nationally.

Winner: 

Kirklees Council’s Safe & Active Travel Officers: Embedding Road Safety & Active Travel, Kirklees Council

Kirklees Council’s Safe & Active Travel Officers deliver a holistic, long-term road safety and active travel programme from nursery through to Year 6 and beyond. Their expanded training now reaches all school years—building progressive knowledge as pupils mature into independent travellers. Through interactive in-class lessons, roadside training, engaging workshops and bespoke project work, our team of 4 trainers and 3 senior officers make multiple visits throughout the school year to challenge, reinforce, and extend pupils’ learning.

Using the Modeshift STARS programme to monitor and evaluate, they support targeted schools requiring extra assistance—especially those with specific travel challenges. This partnership-based approach demonstrates inclusivity, innovation and sustained impact: schools receive tailored support, pupils’ skills grow year-on-year, and travel behaviour improves. Our initiative aligns with key award criteria by delivering measurable behaviour change, sustainable outcomes, scalable models, and joined-up working across settings.

Over the past three years, our Safe & Active Travel Officers have engaged over 33,000 pupils across 130+ Kirklees schools, delivering 3–5 visits per site. Annual pupil surveys show a 20% increase in walking/cycling to school and a 30% bump in confidence for independent travel among Years 5–6. Their bespoke “train‑the‑trainer” first‑aid programme, co‑designed with Yorkshire Ambulance, ensures pupils can respond safely to incidents encountered during active travel.

The initiative has now become embedded in the Kirklees School Travel Plan as a core offer.

Continued funding from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority supports lasting measures such as Bike Friendly Schools program and the installation of cycle/scooter storage across school sites.

Looking ahead, they plan to refine evaluation methods, implementing travel diaries and pre/post travel behaviour mapping, and extend peer‑mentoring leadership into secondary schools, helping nurture a culture of safe, active travel throughout pupils’ independent journeys into adolescence.

This award recognises individuals that have made a significant contribution to sustainable travel locally or nationally.

Winner: Leeds City Council

This award recognises individuals that have made a significant contribution to sustainable travel locally.

Winners:

• Emily Cherry, Bikeability Trust
• Sue O’Brien, Hertfordshire County Council