Project Summary

The Safe Walking Routes initiative aims to enhance journey planning resources for at-risk travelers. It expands on Passenger’s feasibility study, conducting research to identify user expectations and evaluate the feasibility of meeting them. The resulting insights will inform practical guidance and policies for journey planners to offer secure and alternate routes. Additionally, the study aims to encourage journey-planning software providers to adopt these practices as recognised industry standards.

Project Achievements

The research project allows us to develop a comprehensive understanding of types of safety and related concerns of users and subject matter experts. This provided a broad understanding of safety in relation to walking and using journey planning tools. This understanding translates to the five areas of safety we identified; physical, psychological, accessibility, road and social. Once understood this enabled us to expand on specific concerns of users relating to each type of safety and ways in which these could be addressed in relation to safer walking routes. We worked collaboratively with our research partners to devise a survey for which we got over three thousand responses. This provided us with rich qualitative data on safety in the context of walking and journey planning. Outputs from the research will support companies that develop and maintain journey-planning software to adopt the guidance as recognised industry best practice. K i s I f e a s o

Conclusions

Key things to note are that safety is complex and subjective, requiring diverse insights to design effective inclusive solutions. There is no universal definition of safety – it is personal, situational and shaped by infrastructure. In conclusion, this project highlighted needs, envisioned possibilities, and built foundations to progress an inclusive safe walking or journey planning tool that empowers diverse communities. Further research, development and coordinated action are required to realise its full potential. However, the case for investing in solutions that promote safe access for all is now well supported by evidence outlined in this research project.

Next Steps

• Build a digital toolkit to open up the findings from our research to businesses developing journey planning tools in the tran sport industry. • Identify further research opportunities that focus on a specific type of safety, aimed at targeting user concerns • Identify areas where product development can enhance improve user safety concerns • The TRIG program has allowed initial research to be conducted and shared, which we hope to continue to build on moving forward.