The key role of walkability in public transport usage

20 August 2025

Pedestrians wait at a bus stop in Norwich

Any journey begins the moment you step out of your door. Yet despite accounting for 50% of travel time, walking to and from public transport (PT) can become a forgotten element of the travel experience.

As cities across Europe and around the world strive to lower emissions, finding ways to nudge citizens away from car dependency and towards PT use is vital. Is walkability the missing link that could transform user perception and encourage higher PT use? A session at the recent UITP summit in Hamburg this summer explored the key role of walkability in public transport usage. These findings were reported by participants in the session.

Walkability will be a key issue at the Active Travel Innovations event on 4 November in Manchester

Key findings included:

Good walkability can triple public transport usage

Research demonstrates that walking, particularly the ‘first and last mile’, is a crucial aspect of most PT journeys. In Germany, 90% of PT users walk to access transit, with similarly high rates in other cities worldwide. A UITP report finds that good walkability can triple PT usage, emphasising that urban design must consider pedestrian needs for an effective PT system. ?Walking is not only an integral functional aspect of any PT journey, but it also has the power to shape overall journey perception. Cleaner, more accessible walking environments therefore play a critical role in shaping PT perception, and by extension, behaviour patterns. Encouraging PT use requires good walkability.

The 90-50-70 principle

The "90-50-70" principle, which highlights that 90% of PT users walk to access transport, 50% of travel time is spent walking, and 70% of walking shapes journey experience, informs Hamburg’s PT strategy, which identifies pedestrian infrastructure as a key to expanding PT’s reach. ?Hamburg introduced barrier-free access to all transit stations and improved coordination among different actors by unifying responsibilities for station surroundings. Tactical urbanism drawing on public participation and inclusive design (especially for elderly and disabled users) proved crucial in creating liveable PT-oriented spaces.

Humans at the heart of design

Cities are increasingly using human-centred and empathetic design approaches, involving users, planners, and experts in the early stages of projects. Public participation emerged as a key theme in the discussion, with participants emphasising that public participation is central to inclusive planning and equity, particularly in areas with socio-economic disparities where walking and PT are essential for accessing opportunities. ?Design thinking helps planners understand users' daily routines, barriers, and needs. This includes evaluating how people wait at stops, their walking experience, and the accessibility of infrastructure; factors that are even more critical to consider in the evolving context of urban heat and extreme climate conditions.

Measuring success?

Given the importance of the subjective user experience of PT that extends beyond the time spent on transport itself, there's a growing need for KPIs that reflect walking experiences, not just infrastructure quantity.?Metrics such as the percentage of users reporting positive walking experiences, or the proportion of time spent walking that is perceived positively, offer more meaningful insights than simple measurements like sidewalk length or number of crossings.?Tools like the Walkability App can help inform data-driven decisions, providing qualitative insights and spatial data about pedestrian experiences around PT stations. Through user interviews, the app gathers information on demographics, emotions, walking context, and barriers, visualising findings on maps to identify walkability strengths and gaps, informing urban audits, community engagement, and project planning. ? ?

Aligning national strategies with local plans?

Another theme that emerged was the need for better alignment of national strategies with local plans to facilitate coordination across different agencies and actors to consolidate more coherent infrastructure and services that respond better to citizen needs. ?A Pan-European Master Plan compiles initiatives like Austria’s 50% co-funding for walking/cycling infrastructure, which is contingent on municipalities' integrated mobility plans, along with other global examples into a shared policy framework.

The bottom line?

The session underscored that walkability and PT go hand in hand, and coordinated investments in both areas can significantly enhance urban mobility, sustainability, and quality of life. Walkability is a core element of public transport success, equity, and climate resilience. By embedding walking into design, measurement, and policy, cities can create more inclusive, comfortable, and sustainable transport systems.

The workshop featured insights from the UPPER and NetZeroCities-run programmes designed to improve knowledge sharing across cities