Adam Tranter, who has previously volunteered as Bicycle Mayor for Coventry, became the West Midlands Cycling and Walking Commissioner in December 2021.

He will work with Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), local council partners and the Department for Transport to steer the region’s cycling and walking policies and plans and support the planning and delivery of the region’s Starley Network of safe cycling and walking routes. As we noted in our previous article, this network is almost impossible to use at present.

Adam said: “I want our region to achieve its active travel potential. We saw during lockdown that vast numbers of people will cycle given the right environment to do it in; our goal has to be giving these people a genuine alternative to using a car for short journeys. We can only do this by building high quality, direct and connected infrastructure. Congestion really drags down our region’s health and prosperity; cities that have embraced active travel have been rewarded with better air quality, less carbon emissions and happier citizens. I want the West Midlands to have these rewards too.”

The Government has made active travel, the collective term for cycling and walking, a priority for transport investment. Since 2018 the West Midlands has secured £40 million for active travel routes and projects, including the West Midlands Cycle Hire, and the commissioner will be looking to build on that success.

More about Adam’s appointment here.

Below is an interview with Adam published by Shivaji Shiva