Design in Transport

Transport tends to get discussed in terms of networks, services, infrastructure and operations. The result is that people end up adapting to the systems that get built, rather than the systems responding to what people actually need.

This session asks: how might we design transport around people instead?

The North East has a long history as a transport innovator, and the region is at another turning point — bus franchising is handing back control of the network for the first time in four decades. That makes this a good moment to ask who the network currently works for, and who has to work around it.

We start by opening the question to the room. Then a set of short, fast case studies from people who have done it: a transport operator, a designer or researcher, and a community-led initiative, each taking the same five prompts — what wasn't working, whose perspective mattered, what they learned, what changed, and what difference it made. A panel discussion and open Q&A follows, then table conversations where everyone in the room contributes.

Everyone here has expertise, whether that comes from designing transport, delivering it, researching it, using it daily, or struggling to use it at all. Everything shared is captured and published as an article of practical insights.

Come if you design, commission, operate, fund or depend on transport in the North East.