Transport strategies are often built on models, forecasts, and datasets. These tools are essential, but they can only ever tell part of the story. The lived experience of passengers, and their frustrations, workarounds, anxieties, and small moments of delight that shape everyday journeys, rarely appear in spreadsheets. Yet these human realities are exactly where transport systems succeed or fail.
Ethnography and immersive research offer a powerful corrective. By stepping into the world of real passengers, observing journeys as they unfold, and listening deeply to the people who rely on transport the most, public and private sector organisations can design strategies that are not only efficient on paper, but genuinely responsible, inclusive, and future‑proof.
Seeing Transport Through Human Eyes
Ethnography is fundamentally about understanding people in context. Instead of asking passengers what they think of a service, researchers travel with them, watch how they navigate stations, and listen to the stories that emerge in the flow of everyday interactions between technology, infrastructure and people. This approach reveals the subtle, often invisible barriers that shape behaviour: the parent juggling a buggy and an overcrowded bus stop; the older adult who avoids travelling after dark; the commuter who has memorised which carriage aligns with the station exit because it saves two minutes on a stressful morning.
These insights matter because transport is not just infrastructure — it is a lived experience. When organisations understand journeys as people actually live them, they can design strategies that respond to real needs rather than assumed ones. This adds richness and depth to the engineering approach to transport planning.
Representing Diverse Communities Responsibly
Public‑sector transport decisions have responsibility for equity, access, and social mobility. Yet the voices of those most affected, such as low‑income communities, disabled passengers, shift workers, rural residents, and younger and older people - are often underrepresented in formal consultations.
Ethnographic research helps correct this imbalance, by actively seeking out diverse perspectives and giving them weight in our listening. This uncovers the experiences of people who may never attend a consultation event or fill out a survey, but whose daily lives are shaped by transport decisions. Inclusive listening in practice means being willing to listen closer and harder, to really inform strategic decision‑making.
For example, immersive research might reveal that a "well‑connected" interchange is actually intimidating for passengers with neurodivergence and those blind and partially sighted, or that a timetable change disproportionately affects carers who rely on off‑peak services. These insights allow organisations to anticipate unintended consequences and design strategies that work for everyone, not just the majority, or those who shout the loudest in traditional consultations.
Co‑Designing With Communities, Not Doing Transport To Them
Too often, transport planning is something done to communities rather than with them. Decisions are made centrally, and engagement happens late in the process, when options are already fixed.
Ethnography shifts this dynamic. When organisations spend time in communities, build relationships, and understand local priorities, they create the conditions for genuine co‑design. Stakeholders become collaborators rather than consultees. Their lived expertise shapes the brief, rather than only the feedback and analysis stage of projects.
Co‑design can take many forms: community workshops, journey‑mapping sessions, pop‑up research labs in stations, or collaborative prototyping of new services. What matters is the mindset; an openness to being challenged, to hearing uncomfortable truths, and to letting community insight reshape strategic direction.
This approach builds trust, strengthens legitimacy, and leads to solutions that people actually want to use. It also reduces the risk of costly mis-investments, because strategies are grounded in real-world needs from the outset.
Exploring the Unknown: Finding Problems and Opportunities You Didn't Know Existed
One of the greatest strengths of ethnography lies in its ability to surface the unexpected. Traditional research methods tend to confirm what organisations already believe (survey design bias is for another article!). Ethnography, by contrast, uncovers the things no one thought to ask.
Immersive research might reveal that passengers are creating informal "shadow systems", such as WhatsApp groups for sharing real‑time delays, unofficial walking routes to avoid unsafe underpasses, or community lift‑sharing networks. These behaviours point to gaps in the formal system and opportunities for innovation.
Similarly, ethnography can highlight emerging needs before they become crises: the rise of micro‑mobility, the challenges of multimodal journeys, or the emotional toll of unreliable services on key workers.
By exploring the unknown, organisations can design transport strategies that are resilient, adaptive, and aligned with how people actually move through the world.
The Dividends of Human‑Centred Transport Strategy
When organisations invest in ethnography and immersive research, the returns are significant:
• Better strategic decisions grounded in lived reality
• More inclusive services that reflect the needs of diverse communities
• Reduced project risk through early identification of barriers
• Higher public trust thanks to genuine co‑design
• More efficient investments because solutions are targeted where they matter most
• Improved passenger experience, leading to increased use and satisfaction
Human‑centred transport isn't a luxury - it's a necessity! As cities grow, budgets tighten, and expectations rise, the organisations that succeed will be those that understand people deeply, and design with them, not for them.
Ethnography gives us the tools to do exactly that.
Felicity is the Director of Bare Analysis, a specialist research consultancy for transport, infrastructure and defence clients. Please contact [email protected], if you'd like to discuss an opportunity with a member of the team.
