Every year on United Nations World Bicycle Day (June 3), we celebrate the transformative benefits of the bicycle. At the World Bank Group headquarters in Washington, DC, staff from across the institution gathered in the main atrium—as per a growing tradition—to recognize the tremendous contribution the bicycle can make to the World Bank’s mission of ending extreme poverty on a livable planet.
World Bank staff create the shape of a bicycle in the atrium of World Bank Headquarters in Washington DC to mark 2025 UN World Bicycle Day.
This year’s occasion carried particular significance as it took place on the cusp of the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026-2035). In the months leading up to this UN Decade, it's time to rethink how we prioritize and finance transport. To “win big” during this pivotal period, governments should go “all in” on active mobility—that is, prioritizing walking, cycling, and other forms of human-powered movement by allocating as much of their land transport budgets to these modes as they can.
This means significantly increasing funding for fully-connected, safe, comfortable, and attractive walking and cycling networks; improving integration with public transport; setting and enforcing safe speed limits for vehicles; expanding access to both shared and privately owned bicycles; and supporting behavior-change initiatives that promote active mobility. In fact, since 2016, the United Nations Environment Programme has urged governments to allocate at least 20% of their transport budgets to walking and cycling, though most countries fall well-short of this target.
Walking and cycling offer numerous benefits, including reduced environmental impact, improved health outcomes, and enhanced urban mobility and accessibility.
The reason is simple: active mobility is one of the most cost-effective investments governments can make—not just in transport, but across all sectors. And the benefits extend far beyond those who walk or cycle. Here are three reasons why active mobility is a smart investment for whole communities—from children and workers to business owners and even drivers who continue to rely on motorized transport.
First, encouraging walking and cycling is better for health. Not only does active mobility improve the health of those walking and cycling, it also improves air quality for everyone by reducing the number of motorized trips taken in a city each day. Additionally, active mobility reduces road crashes, which poses the risk of serious injuries and death for all road users—including pedestrians and children. Better health is also beneficial for the economy, leading to a more productive workforce and the freeing up of public funds for other priorities.
Second, by reducing the number of cars on the road, investments in active mobility can ease congestion across the entire transport network, benefiting workers and employers alike. When walking and cycling networks are improved, and especially when they are purposefully integrated with public transport services, people can travel to work more conveniently, comfortably, and quickly, which expands access to job opportunities. This provides businesses with access to a larger labor pool, enabling better matches between employers and employees and creating efficiencies across the entire economy. In this way, faster and more reliable commute times can underpin the expansion of high-quality jobs.
Third, active mobility can help governments reach their emission reduction targets. Globally, transport accounts for about 20% of total greenhouse gas emissions, and transport emissions are predicted to increase a further 60% by 2050 in a business-as-usual scenario. Encouraging people to walk and cycle more often can help reduce dependence on cars, leading to less pollution and reduced emissions.
For these reasons and more, the World Bank Group and its partners are actively promoting investments in active mobility in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). For example, a new cost-benefit analysis tool co-developed by the World Bank and the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy helps decision makers make the economic case for investing in cycling infrastructure. Dubbed CyclingMax, the first-of-its-kind tool allows users to quickly generate clear, quantifiable evidence of the economic value waiting to be unlocked.
CyclingMax makes it simple to assess the economic benefits of new cycling infrastructure.
Another significant step forward is the new active mobility window within the World Bank’s Global Facility to Decarbonize Transport. Supported by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the funds will fast track world-class active mobility infrastructure in LMICs.
These efforts are part of a growing global movement. For example, in 2023, a global campaign was launched to train 10,000 active mobility experts in LMICs. In Europe, the 2024 Declaration on Cycling committed to doubling the number of kilometers cycled across the European Union by 2030. And in Africa, the first-ever Pan African Action Plan for Active Mobility was launched in 2024.
Yet advocacy, declarations, and statements won’t move the needle on their own. For real change, governments must make meaningful, large investments in active mobility from their budgets, as well as partner with Multilateral Development Banks and other international financing institutions for financing and project preparation support. In this regard, the World Bank Group is open for business.
Land transport investments shape the way people move for decades. The best time to invest in active mobility was yesterday, and the second-best time is today. In this light, we encourage the United Nations to recommend countries adopt ambitious active mobility investment targets for each year of the UN Decade and monitor their progress. We hope this recommendation is adopted when the UN Decade Implementation Plan is launched in New York on November 26, 2025.
With ever-constrained budgets and competing priorities, some might say, "we can't afford to invest heavily in active mobility". But as we approach the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport, we respond: we can’t afford not to.
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