By Sean Travers Project News September 9, 2025

OptiPEx presents at conference on intelligent mobility solutions

Press Release

EU-funded OptiPEx project presented at a European conference for experts in traffic safety, transport modes and road user groups.
The event aimed to discuss automated vehicles, intelligent transport systems, and passenger safety and accessibility.
OptiPEx will co-create ethical passenger-aware public transport service solutions with user groups and stakeholders to improve passenger experience, promote inclusiveness, and build public trust in Cooperative, Connected, and Automated Mobility (CCAM) systems.

On 27^th-29^th August 2025, the OptiPEx project delivered two presentations at the Humanist Conference at Technische Universität Chemnitz in Germany. This conference brought together psychologists, ergonomics and engineers. The focus of the event was to share news and research results for Human Factors in Transport, such as how to enhance safety for e-scooter users and HMI needs for passengers of automated shuttles.

OptiPEx presented research concerning the requirements of passengers with special needs regarding automated public transport vehicles and factors influencing public transport use among older adults in Europe.

The first presentation was delivered by OptiPEx partner Dr Franziska Schmalfuß from IAV GmbH and was entitled ‘Highly automated public transport for everybody: Insights from Focus Groups’. In the OptiPEx project, focus groups delivered ideas for further development. On basis of the results, service ideas are now discussed and some will be implemented during the project. Among the members of the focus groups included mobility impaired users, tourists with large objects, senior citizens and public transport operators.

Franziska spoke of the event:

“The Humanist Conference was a unique opportunity to report the results of our research on the experience of diverse passengers on public transport, which include weather conditions, unsafe behavior from other passengers and orientation challenges. It was wonderful to present this research to an audience of researchers working for universities, institutes and industry.”

The second presentation was delivered by OptiPEx partner Dr Antonio Lucas-Alba from Universidad de Zaragoza and was entitled ‘Determinants of Public Transport Usage Frequency Among Older Adults in Four EU Countries’. Antonio explored the reasons why older adults are hesitant to use public transport. He outlined a survey conducted by the OptiPEx project. The questionnaire was distributed in four countries, covering a wide range of people; Antonio focussed on elderly in his analysis and therefore, a sub-sample that filled in the questionnaire.

Antonio said of his presentation:

“Local transport is vital for older adults’ daily needs. We need to support sustainable mobility, autonomy and social inclusion. The OptiPEx service solutions will be built on advanced vehicle technologies that assess passenger experience in real-time and adjust the on-board conditions to enhance the comfort and safety of passengers, as well as ease of travelling.”

The event was attended by over 90 participants from across Europe and beyond, and provided a forum to enrich research and knowledge of transport safety.

ENDS

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