Active travel
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Active travel to NHS Highland sites - drive less, move more, feel good.
Active travel is a journey with an element of being active: walking and cycling of course, but also using public transport, as this usually includes a walk or cycle too. Lift-sharing is also a great way to reduce car use and make parking easier, and can also give you a chance for a walk. Please travel on foot, by bike, by public transport or by liftsharing if you can, rather than by car.
In Scotland, half of short journeys of 1 or 2 km are made by car, and two-thirds of all car journeys are made alone. If that's you, could you make a change? It doesn't have to be all or nothing - could you leave the car behind just one or two days a week?
Why active travel?
Your health, your pocket, your community, your NHS.
Being physically active for everyday journeys:
- is good for your mental and physical health: exercise prevents and treats many diseases and helps you get better outcomes from medical treatments you receive
- is good for your pocket: walking and cycling are much cheaper than running a car
- is good for your community: fewer car movements make our streets cleaner and safer for everyone
- helps leave NHS car parks free for essential car users: of course, some staff, visitors and patients do need to drive.
So if you can, swap congestion and parking stress for cheaper, greener, healthier options.
Our shared planet - a zero carbon NHS
The climate crisis is also a health crisis and the NHS must reduce its impact on the environment. NHS Scotland is required to be a zero carbon organisation by 2040. Carbon emissions from travel haven't dropped in a decade and that has to change. Reducing car miles for staff, patient and visitor travel now has a crucial part to play in reaching the 2040 target.
Perhaps your next appointment could be carried out online using Near Me or by phone so you don't have to travel. Find out more information about Near Me or ask in your clinic.
What if my journey is too long for active travel?
Active travel doesn’t have to be the whole of your journey. There are lots of ways that part of the total journey could be done more actively, and with a lower environmental impact.
Try parking somewhere further away from your destination to cut vehicle miles and to get a walk, or taking the bike in the car and cycling some of the way. If the bus stop isn't near your house, could walking or cycling there work?
Changing habits always takes extra effort at first, but you'll soon notice the benefits.
Active travel for business journeys
Many of us have to travel for business during the working day. Many of the local journeys we make can be far more pleasant and convenient if we don’t take a car, and cycling for short trips can be just as quick as driving.
Walking by yourself or with colleagues between meetings brings time for a 'reset', preparation or reflection.
Getting started - practical information
The Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS) is the statutory regional transport partnership covering Highland and most of Argyll and Bute (other than Helensburgh and Lomond) Council areas - as well as Eilean Siar (Western Isles), Orkney and Moray.
Public transport
Walking and cycling
- Velo City Inverness - support for cycling in Inverness
- Find practical advice for walking and local walking groups across the Highlands at Paths for All.
- Download HITRANS active travel maps for:
- Badenoch & Strathspey (pdf, 2025)
- Elgin (pdf, 2021)
- Fort William (pdf, 2019)
- Inverness (pdf, 2019)
- Find practical advice for cycling at Sustrans.
- Cycling UK's YouTube channel
- Plan a route:
- at CycleStreets
- using Cycling Scotland's journey planner
- using the Cycling or Walking options on Google Maps
Liftsharing
- Find a passenger or offer a lift at HItravel, powered by liftshare.
Active travel, health and sustainability
Find out more about being active for everyday journeys, and how being active helps you stay healthy.
- Think Health Think Nature
- Transport Scotland - Walking and Cycling
- Net Zero Nation - Active Travel
- Find out more about NHS Scotland and sustainability at NHS Sustainability Action.
Important: Keeping active
Information on the health benefits of exercise and ideas on how to keep active.
Keeping active - from NHS informTravel and transport
For particular hospital travel arrangements - location, directions and parking - see information for each hospital.