Designing Inclusive Mobility Services: Lessons from an Interactive Webinar

How can cities ensure that innovative mobility services are designed with citizens, and not just for them? This question was at the heart of a recent interactive webinar organised by MOBILITIES FOR EU partners We Right Click and Steinbeis Europa Zentrum, focusing on inclusive citizen engagement in urban mobility innovation.

Rather than presenting a traditional lecture, the session invited participants to step into the role of service designers responsible for developing an autonomous shuttle pilot operating inside Mercamadrid, one of Europe’s largest wholesale food markets.

Through a live simulation and a series of decision points, participants explored the real-world challenges of designing mobility services that work for diverse communities and workers, including those who often face barriers to participation.

An Interactive Design Simulation

Participants were presented with a fictionalised—but realistic—scenario: the City of Madrid plans to launch an autonomous shuttle service within Mercamadrid to reduce internal car traffic and improve mobility for the thousands of workers operating on the site every day.

However, past consultations had mainly attracted administrative staff and daytime workers, while night-shift employees, warehouse workers, cleaners and delivery drivers were largely absent.

Throughout the session, attendees voted on key decisions faced by the service design team, including:

• How to reach underrepresented groups
• How to overcome structural participation barriers
• How to gather meaningful feedback
• How to rebuild trust when citizens feel their input will not matter
• How to balance operational efficiency with social inclusion

Each decision revealed the trade-offs and complexities of inclusive engagement, sparking lively discussion among participants.

Check out the webinar recording