Youth Travel Ambassadors
What is the Youth Travel Ambassador programme?
Learn more about the Youth Travel Ambassadors programme and how it can empower students.
Youth Travel Ambassadors in action
Read examples of the great work being done across Greater Manchester.
Help transform the school run
Learn how your school could be part of the YTA programme
Youth Travel Ambassadors
Empowering students to make change by addressing transport issues affecting their communities
The Youth Travel Ambassador (YTA) programme helps schools create a team of student ambassadors, who work together to make getting to school safer and easier for everyone. The aim is to help more people walk, wheel, or cycle to school – supporting better health, reducing traffic, and improving air quality.
Many schools across Greater Manchester have been part of the YTA programme since it started in 2022, with hundreds of students nominated as ambassadors for their school, and thousands of students participating in active travel campaigns.
The benefits of participating are far-reaching, with students experiencing improvements to health and wellbeing, and developing communication, research, presentation, and collaboration skills.
School communities benefit too – with a reduction in car use contributing to safer roads and improved air quality.
How it works
A team of 8-12 ambassadors is appointed and with support from a TfGM YTA Coordinator and a school staff lead, students take part in a series of sessions to research travel barriers and issues and design an active travel campaign.
Ambassadors then deliver their campaign in school, enabling and encouraging more pupils and staff to walk, wheel and cycle to school, improving health and wellbeing, reducing congestion, and improving air quality around school.
This factsheet outlines the programme process.
YTA aims to:
Establish a team of student ambassadors empowered to address transport issues within their school community
Create sustained changes in travel behaviour, increasing the number of students and staff travelling actively and sustainably to and from school
Build a network of schools committed to improving travel behaviours
Strengthen support networks for schools, including links with local authorities and sustainable travel organisations across Greater Manchester.
Students will develop skills in a variety of areas including:
Presenting and public speaking
Leadership and project management
Collecting and analysing data
Creating PowerPoint presentations
Using maps and planning journeys
Understanding the benefits of active travel
Marketing and promotion
Working to improve the school community
Five steps to delivering a successful YTA Campaign
Sessions are flexible and can be delivered in a way that works best for each school – whether that is spread across the year or all in one day.
However the sessions are delivered, YTA teams will follow these five key steps:
Research travel issues and barriers within their school community.
Develop solutions and an active travel campaign plan.
Pitch for funding at an inter-school event.
Launch and deliver their campaign in school.
Monitor and evaluate impact.
TfGM helps schools get their YTA programme off the ground in year one. As the programme develops, schools gradually take the lead (with TfGM’s support) building on ideas each year to help more students travel actively.
Youth Travel Ambassadors in action
Empowering students to make change by addressing transport issues affecting their communities
What’s been done previously
Here are a few examples of the great work YTAs have been doing across Greater Manchester:
Shevington High School YTAs built on the success of their Park & Stride scheme by campaigning for a new pedestrian crossing outside the school, helping to create a safer environment around the gates. They also encouraged more cycling by launching a bike library with bikes, trailers and tag-alongs available to borrow, alongside bike maintenance training. One ambassador even set up an in-school bike maintenance hub to help keep students’ bikes in good condition.
Sale Grammar School YTAs focused on improving road safety and reducing congestion around the school. They expanded their Park & Stride scheme during Active Travel Week, organised bike servicing and bike security events, and successfully campaigned for a change to the school uniform policy to make cycling easier. They are now campaigning for a safer crossing outside the school.
Wright Robinson College YTAs leveraged their school’s proximity to the Fallowfield Loop cycle path to encourage more students to cycle to school. They organised bike maintenance training so students could learn how to service their own bikes and secured funding for additional cycle parking. Their efforts have helped create a strong cycling culture, with more than 150 students now cycling to school each day.
William Hulme’s Grammar School YTAs launched their first campaign with a road closure event outside the school, creating a safer and calmer environment for students travelling to and from school. The event was so well received that there are now calls for a permanent School Street scheme. They also secured funding for additional secure cycle parking to support more students choosing active travel.
Participate in the YTA programme
Apply now to join the 2026/27 YTA programme
Applications for the 2026/27 Youth Travel Ambassador (YTA) programme have now closed. However, if your school is interested in establishing a YTA team, we'd still love to hear from you. We can offer a range of support and resources to help you promote active and sustainable travel while you prepare to apply for the 2027/28 programme, which is expected to open for applications in May 2027.
By joining the programme, your school will become part of a growing network of schools across Greater Manchester that are working to make walking, wheeling and cycling the preferred choice for the journey to school. YTA empowers young people to lead campaigns, influence positive behaviour change, and make a real difference in their local communities, helping to create safer, healthier, and more sustainable school environments.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact us at Active.Travel@tfgm.com
Help transform the school run
By 2030, our goal is for 70% of primary school students in Greater Manchester to walk, wheel, scoot or cycle to and from school. Creating more School Streets is just one piece of the puzzle to make the journey safer.
Support for parents and guardians
Find out more about the benefits of adding active travel into the school run and handy tips about how you can do it.
Find support for parents and guardians.
Support for schools
Schools play an important role in getting more people to be active. Find information and resources that can help you to promote the benefits of active travel to your school community.
Find more support for schools.
Other school programmes
Interested in other ways your school can get more involved in active travel? Find information about our Modeshift STARS and School Streets programmes and initiatives and learn how your school could participate.