leicester’s green ways

While we all rely on our car, getting out and onto public transport (or using your own power) has measurable effects on your health, your wellbeing, and the environment. Leicester has long been a leading light of ‘green transport’ and over recent years improvements to the traffic network, bus partnership and cycle routes have seen the city become a hub for regenerative, active, accessible and ’green’ travel.

While getting on the bus is a great way to save money and reduce emissions, the Leicester Bus partnership has gone further by bringing together all of the local bus companies to make bus travel around Leicester electric, frequent, reliable, easy and great value. Half of the city’s bus fleet are brand new electric buses. There are plans in place to make Leicester buses fully electric by 2030.

Investment across the network has also provided high quality real-time information, digital ticketing, bus priority and new waiting facilities. 24 ‘mainline’ services and 6 cross-city routes feature around 400 electric buses (and yes, they’re green!). This will reduce around 7,000 tonnes of CO2 pollution every year.

But it’s all about connectivity. Three park and ride sites on the outskirts of the city and the outer orbital service connect all of these routes together. The introduction of the FREE inner orbital Hop bus has done even more to connect all these routes. Hop runs 6 days a week and stops close to all the city’s major attractions every 10 minutes. It is also linked to Park and Ride services and the Hospital Hopper route. It now provides an accessible, sustainable (and FREE) link from the main bus and railway station (with trains heading to the county’s market towns and major cities, with direct connections to London, Birmingham, Nottingham and Sheffield), and main City Centre bus stops to key tourist destinations, the hospital, 2 universities and colleges, the market, shops and theatres. More than 100,000 people rode the Hop in its first 5 months and passenger numbers continue to rise, with an average of 2,200 journeys per day.

Find out more at the Leicester buses website.

Getting on your bike isn’t only a great way to reduce congestion and air quality, it also has proven effects on both fitness and mental health. There’s no better reason to go two wheeled!, the city has invested heavily in an ever growing cycle network that would be the envy of any major city on the continent. The County of Leicestershire is criss-crossed by National Cycle Routes, including National Route 6 which runs from the Lake District to London and passes right through Market Harborough, Leicester itself and Loughborough. Route 64 travels north east from Melton Mowbray and 64 heads out to the beautiful cycle routes of the National Forest in North West Leicestershire.

There’s a free bike park at Leicester’s Town Hall and cycle paths have been created on many of the main routes into the city, making it safer and stress-free. There is also secure cycle parking at St Margaret’s Cycle Hub which can be accessed by signing up for the Cycle Hub membership through Active Leicester. Regular events aim to increase cycle use and participation. During the summer months the Open Streets monthly event closes roads around the city with performances, workshops and more aimed at cyclists. This also coincides with the Leicester Bike Fest, held every last Saturday of the month at the Leicester Cycle Circuit between May and October.

From February until October the city’s Active Travel team put on free guided rides with their own themes from history to street art. These are designed to encourage people to explore the city by bike. You can view all the upcoming rides here.

Leicester is often praised for being one of the most walkable cities in the UK, with a compact city centre and pedestrianisation initiatives making it extremely friendly to walk around.

From riverside walks to exploration trails covering our history, the Visit Leicester website has a huge amount. You can also find information on the Choose How You Move website on how to join group walks and learn more about the city from an experienced guide in the company of others or join health and social walks to help with fitness and wellbeing.

The fantastic team at Choose How You Move have journey planners, routes, information about car sharing, walking and cycling alongside guides for local businesses and schools. The work they do is all aimed at improving fitness, saving money and reducing congestion. All of which benefit the environment and our own wellbeing.

Take a look at the Choose How You Move website to find out more. There you can sign up to the Walk Leicester and Ride Leicester newsletters, plus track your journeys and earn points towards high street vouchers and charity donations with the Betterpoints Rewards App.