331 citizens across Europe have shared their everyday mobility experiences through the MobiNexus User-Centric Lab, providing valuable insights to guide the development of more user-centred mobility solutions.
Citizens from across Europe share their mobility experiences
Between April and August 2026, citizens contributed empathy maps through the MobiNexus digital citizen engagement lab. 303 contributions came from the five MobiNexus core countries — Croatia, Cyprus, Serbia, Spain and the United Kingdom — exceeding the project target of 300. A further 28 contributions came from 12 other European countries, extending the reach of the consultation beyond the project’s core locations.
The responses covered the three pillars of the mobility “triple revolution”: shared mobility, electrification, and automation and connectivity.
The findings reveal five recurring challenges across countries:
- Reliability matters more than speed. Unpredictable journeys and inaccurate real-time information are major sources of stress and can undermine trust in public transport.
- People want simpler journeys. Citizens consistently called for more integrated travel planning, ticketing and payment — ideally through one interface, one ticket and one account.
- The weakest links matter most. Gaps between transport modes and missing infrastructure can make otherwise well-connected networks difficult to use.
- Some groups face greater barriers. Shift workers, rural and island communities, disabled travellers, women travelling at night and people with low digital confidence can face particular challenges.
- Confidence is key to adoption. Citizens are generally open to electric and automated mobility, but concerns about reliability, charging infrastructure and liability can hold adoption back.
From citizen insights to co-creation
The empathy map exercise marks the first stage of the MobiNexus User-Centric Lab methodology. The project has now moved from understanding citizens’ experiences to developing practical solutions through Design Thinking.
The first co-creation workshop has already taken place in Croatia, bringing together citizens and mobility stakeholders to explore challenges identified through the citizen consultation. Further workshops will follow in Cyprus, Serbia, Spain and the United Kingdom, bringing together citizens, transport operators, public authorities, academics and industry representatives.
Across the five countries, participants will use the insights gathered through the User-Centric Lab to develop and test practical ideas, services and technology solutions for more user-centred mobility.
