This first in the series of the Urban Transport Next events was a conversation on 26 November 2020 on the future of active travel in our metro areas, what needs to change, and how we can bring about a real revolution in the way we move around our cities.

It featured Dame Sarah Storey and Ben Still, who were interviewed by Xavier Brice (see biographies below).

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About the panel

Dame Sarah Storey

Dame Sarah Storey is a professional cyclist (and previously a swimmer) and one of the most decorated athletes in British sporting history, with a total of 14 Paralympic and 38 world titles to her name.

As a mother-of-two, a long-time advocate of the physical and mental health benefits of cycling, a vocal champion of accessible infrastructure and an inspirational figure in encouraging more women to take up increased levels of physical activity, Dame Sarah was appointed as Active Travel Commissioner for Sheffield City Region in April 2019. In this role, she identifies – in conjunction with local communities – and presents viable options to enable increased levels of cycling and walking to the region’s elected officials.

Xavier Brice

Xavier Brice is CEO of the walking and cycling charity Sustrans. He joined Sustrans in June 2016 from Transport for London where he held a variety of roles, included developing a new cycling strategy for the city, which led to the introduction of the Cycle Superhighways and Cycle Hire Scheme.

Xavier is a lifelong cyclist and ever since childhood has been fascinated by transport’s impact on society. He believes that how we get around shapes how happy we are as individuals, and how happy and healthy our society is.

Ben Still

Ben Still is Managing Director of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

He is responsible for coordinating strategy, development and delivery with Members of the Authority, the Local Enterprise Partnership and partner councils to ensure that the Authority’s corporate priorities are actively progressed and its objectives delivered on time and effectively.

He is a Board member of the Urban Transport Group, where he leads on active travel issues.