Dr Nik Johnson, mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority will be supporting Better Transport Week by taking on his own Six District Challenge on June 12. 

The Six District Challenge involves getting around each of the six districts in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, in 24 hours using only public transport and active travel routes.

The mayor will have no prior plan regarding what routes or modes of travel he will take.

He says it will be an opportunity to identify transport challenges.

He said: “As a children’s doctor I am thrilled to be supporting Better Transport Week and thoroughly looking forward to taking on the Six District Challenge.

“Good public transport, that is accessible to all, is so vital to our collective health. Not just because it reduces air pollution which harms our lungs and wider respiratory system.

"Research has shown that people who rate their public transport as ‘good’ are close to three times more likely than those who rate it as ‘poor’ to be able to access vital public services such as health care, food shops or education.

"Moreover, they are also slightly less likely to report feeling dissatisfied with life or experience mental health problems.

“Good public transport isn’t just buses and trains, active modes of travel, such a walking and cycling, must be accommodated also.

"If exercise levels increased each week by a combined 30 minutes of cycling and 30 minutes of walking, there would be a reduction of around 6,100 deaths in England per year. That is hugely significant."

Better Transport Week takes place from June 12-16 and is a week-long celebration of sustainable transport.

Welcoming the Mayor’s challenge, Campaign for Better Transport’s campaigns manager Michael Solomon Williams said:

‘We are encouraged to hear about Mayor Johnson’s Six District Challenge. He is setting an inspiring example to people in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and right across the country.

 

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