TfGM encouraging GM to get active and take part in ‘10 for 10’

By Transport for Greater Manchester | 11 January 2023 | TAGS: active travel

Residents across the city-region are being encouraged to get active this January and commit to doing 10 minutes of walking, cycling or wheeling a day for 10 weeks

Backed by Active Travel Commissioner, Dame Sarah Storey, the 10 for 10 campaign aims to get people moving over the winter months and kick-start the New Year with some new, health-boosting habits.

Research has shown how getting active for 10 minutes each day can improve people’s mental and physical health and can also help people adopt positive habits in the long-term.

Increasing activity levels each day can be achieved by small, simple changes to people’s daily routine, such as leaving the car at home for shorter journeys and either walking, cycling or wheeling instead.

Experts advise that the easiest way for people get moving is to build these active travel modes into their everyday life and journeys, whether that’s popping to the shops, taking the stairs instead of the lift, or on the school run.

Dame Sarah Storey, Active Travel Commissioner for Greater Manchester, said: 

“The start of a new year is traditionally the time for taking on ambitious new challenges which don't always last, so to start 2023 we’re taking a different approach.

“The 10 for 10 campaign is a challenging but achievable option the whole family can do together and I hope as many people as possible will sign up and get involved.

“Whether it's getting off the bus a stop early, heading to the local shops on foot instead of the car or taking the children out on their bikes at the weekend, there are so many ways to take part and it could be a different form of activity every day.

“Lots of people tell me they don't feel fit enough to engage with travelling actively on a regular basis - this campaign is designed to help people start off small and build up.

“Active travel is one of the most important solutions we have as a population to tackle issues such as clean air, declining physical and mental health and is central to the Greater Manchester 2040 Transport Strategy."

In November, Dame Sarah unveiled a new policy, Refreshing Greater Manchester’s Active Travel Mission, highlighting the benefits of active travel and why it is fundamental to the success of other key agendas for Greater Manchester, including improved health, decarbonisation, educational attainment and the economy. 

Active travel is also a key component in the delivery of a fully-integrated transport system, the Bee Network.

It forms part of Transport for Greater Manchester’s wider ambition for half of all journeys in the city-region to be by public transport or active travel, rather than by car, by 2040.

Research has shown that physical inactivity is responsible for one in six deaths in the UK with an estimated annual cost of at least £7.4 billion.

Meanwhile, the benefits of cycling, walking and wheeling are already clear with Sustrans estimating that current levels of active travel in Greater Manchester preventing at least 2,600 serious, long-term health conditions.

Walking in the city-region is reported to help prevent at least 425 early deaths annually, while cycling helps to prevent more than 50 and saves local NHS services around £4m a year.

This article was originally published on the TfGM website.