HITRANS Active Travel Networking Conference Feb 2025

On 26th February 2025, HITRANS hosted a highly successful networking conference, bringing together professionals and stakeholders from across the region to discuss active travel initiatives. With 80 attendees making the journey from across the HITRANS region and beyond—the event was a fantastic opportunity to exchange ideas, celebrate achievements, and foster collaboration.

The day featured outstanding presentations that showcased the breadth of active travel projects in the region. Engagement was high, with thought-provoking questions in the Q&A sessions and dynamic discussions during breaks. Attendees praised the event for achieving its key aims: bringing people together, celebrating success, and sharing knowledge.

The Programme

The event opened with a welcome address from HITRANS Director, Ranald Robertson, who provided an overview of the People and Place Programme, highlighting key achievements and priorities for the year ahead.

A diverse line-up of presentations followed, covering a range of impactful active travel initiatives:

• George Ewing, Cycling UK – Noss Bike Train in Caithness
  George shared the inspiring journey of the school bike train initiative at Noss Primary School. He detailed how this six-week programme has fostered a strong sense of community, culminating in an impressive final session with 137 participants—including pupils, parents, teachers, canteen staff and even teachers from neighbouring schools.  This impressive project has demonstrated how travelling to school by bike as a group brings the community together and gives joy to those involved or watching all while and instilling healthy habits in children.

• Roanna Trerise, Living Streets – Walking, Scooting, and Cycling in Schools
  Roanna showcased the success of the Walk Once a Week (WOW) Travel Tracker programme, emphasising how pupil-led engagement and data collection have driven long-term behaviour change towards active travel in schools. Walk Once a Week (WOW), is a UK wide initiative, from Living Streets to encourage children to walk, scoot and cycle to school. 6,432 pupils across 35 primary schools are involved in the HITRANS area with walking the most popular way to reach school by 42% of children.

• Jamie Joyce, ACT ReCycle Project – Bike Recycling and Maintenance
  Jamie highlighted the work of ACT ReCycle in collecting donated bicycles and reconditioning them to a safe and functioning standard. The bikes are then o provided t for free to residents in Mid Argyll.  He underscored the project’s role in tackling rural transport poverty, reducing waste and reducing carbon emissions as well as improving health making cycling more accessible.

• Emma Walters, Lochaber Environment Group – Fort William Bike Shed
  Emma provided an in-depth look at the Fort William Bike Shed’s initiatives, from bike refurbishment and maintenance training to cycle confidence sessions. She also discussed the project’s move towards a social enterprise model while ensuring affordability for those on low incomes.

• Simon Erhardt, HITRANS – Hi-Bike Cycle Share Scheme
  Simon outlined the growth of the Hi-Bike e-bike share scheme in Inverness and Fort William. He shared that there are currently 1,198 active users across Inverness and Fort William. The scheme offers a sustainable way for residents and visitors to travel with Inverness Railway Station, UHI Inverness campus and Fort Willian High Street as the most popular destinations.  He also detailed upcoming expansion plans, including an extension of the Inverness scheme and the development of a new scheme in Elgin planned for summer 2025.

• Michael Harvey, Sustrans/Orkney Islands Council – Travel Matters Orkney Report
  Michael presented key insights from an extensive engagement project on active travel behaviours and attitudes in Orkney. His data-driven findings give an unprecedented understanding of what the Orkney public think about walking, wheeling and cycling.  The findings are valuable in shaping solutions to support increased active travel in Orkney and have relevance for other rural and island settings.  He also shared some of the case studies from the report which gave character and were inspiring.
• Rebecca Purvis & Sheila Wickens, HITRANS – Regional Cycling Grant & Workplace Active Travel Grant
  Rebecca and Sheila introduced two upcoming active travel infrastructure grant opportunities administered by Hitrans for 2025/26.  The schemes are for both cycle parking in the community setting and infrastructure for supporting active travel in the workplace.  Both grants were introduced as new initiatives with Hitrans in 24/25.  Becca and Sheila shared some successful case studies from each fund, as well as outlining the application timeline for the next funding round.

Engagement and Feedback

The event was uplifting with attendees eager to share ideas and explore new opportunities for collaboration and further share learning. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with many appreciating the chance to connect with peers, gain fresh perspectives, and learn from innovative approaches to active travel.  Post-event evaluations are underway to assess impact and inform future events.

Looking Ahead

HITRANS extends its thanks to all speakers and attendees for making the conference a resounding success. We look forward to continuing these valuable discussions at our next networking event, scheduled for Wednesday, 1st October 2025, in Kirkwall, Orkney.