South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and Modeshift announce first of its kind partnership for active travel plans

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) have announced they will partner with Modeshift, in a first of its kind partnership.

Our two organisations will work together to support more people to walk, wheel and cycle and take public transport as part of their journey to work and help to create a happier, healthier, and wealthier South Yorkshire for all who live there.

As part of the partnership Modeshift will work across the region to help employers support employees to travel differently to work, with a specific focus on healthcare settings – the biggest employers in South Yorkshire.

Organisations who sign up will benefit from support on how they can best influence a travel and transport behaviour change within their workforce; easing congestion, increasing individuals‘ health and wellbeing and lower carbon emissions.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “We’re building a happier, healthier South Yorkshire.

“That means giving our communities more and better choices about how to travel and move.

That’s why this partnership with Modeshift, because we’re helping people live healthier lives through everyday physical activity.

I’ve taken a leading role on tackling health inequalities in our region as part of my role as the chair of South Yorkshire’s Integrated Care Partnership.

And this new partnership is just another step on our journey to making South Yorkshire the healthiest region in the country”.

The programme will also help individual authorities to make informed decisions on planned and future travel and transport infrastructure developments.

Any workplace organisations based within the region regardless of size or complexity are eligible for the programme.

Dr Jo Maher, NHS GP at Wincobank Medical Centre, said: “As an NHS GP I know how important keeping active every day is for our physical and mental health. Balancing that with work and family commitments is challenging.

The NHS is one of the largest employers in South Yorkshire. By working in partnership, at scale, SYMCA, Modeshift and the NHS will help to bring the benefits from walking wheeling and cycling to key workers and their families. It’s a UK-first alliance that will help us not only do the right thing for our health and wellbeing, but also for the planet.”

Tom Murray, Modeshift STARS Programme Manager (Business) said: “What a great time to be working with SYMCA. Together we’ll provide workplaces across the region with the chance to develop, deliver and monitor effective travel plans. This programme will provide employers with the opportunity to support their employees to travel more effectively; helping to create happy, healthy, and motivated individuals. It will contribute to lowering the carbon emissions produced by regular vehicle commutes across the region too.”

The travel plans will be Modeshift STARS accredited, which is part of our national travel plan scheme.