EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK recently sat down with Kathryn Bulanowski, project manager at the European Passengers’ Federation (EPF), to discuss this year’s campaign theme Mobility for Everyone and see how cities can ensure that their mobility solutions work for all.

The EPF is a nonprofit umbrella association of passenger organisations across Europe that advocates for the rights and interests of public transport users. The organisation was established over 20 years ago, working to tackle transport poverty and improve the quality, accessibility and sustainability of passenger transport. 
 

First of all, tell us about yourself and what you like about working at the European Passengers’ Federation?

I've been a project manager at EPF for four years. I was drawn to working at EPF because I wanted to do something useful, both with and for people. I like that it’s all about improving public transport, as I use public transport myself all the time. This is what drives me the most – that the role really relates to my own interests.  

What do you think is the best way to make sure that mobility services cater for everyone? 

At the EPF, we advocate for a universal design approach, so that a service or tool, like an app, for example, can cater for everyone’s needs. It can sometimes be difficult to balance the needs of different user groups, so universal design helps to accommodate as many people as possible rather than creating a specialised service that addresses the specific needs of a specific group only. Universal design is a win-win approach because operators potentially have more people using the service and, in turn, more people benefit from the service.

I heard of an example recently from one of our members. She pointed out that you must consider how a design affects all groups - because a solution that might meet the needs of one group could actually affect another group negatively. She gave a specific example of UK zebra crossings being replaced with more colourful designs, with the goal of preventing pedestrian casualties. Many organisations, however, raised safety concerns because of their impact on people with, for example, a visual or sensory impairment. As a result, they had to change the zebra crossings back to black-and-white. This is why universal design is so beneficial, because then you avoid this type of challenge. 

What does the 2025 EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK campaign theme, ‘Mobility for Everyone’, mean to you?

For me, very simply, it means that anyone can travel without barriers, regardless of their personal circumstances. This includes when they wish to travel and where they want to go, and how they wish to get there. 
I'm glad that this is the topic of this year's campaign, because it’s such a very important topic. I am curious to see what participating cities will come up with because previous annual themes have been quite creative and fun. I think this year will be no different.

 
During your presentation (at the European Mobility Week annual workshops) you spoke about Mobility as a Right. How does this fit in? 

I really like the idea behind Mobility as a Right (MaaR). This concept, from the EU Horizon project UPPER, states that everyone should be able to go wherever they want, whenever they wish to travel. Everyone needs affordable, reliable public transport that allows them to access work, education, healthcare and other essential services. EPF fully supports the MaaR concept, because a lack of access to public transport can mean that people are excluded from fully participating in society. 

For cities or organisations that are unsure where to start with the theme of Mobility for Everyone, what would you recommend as some easy first steps? 

Reach out to citizens and actively engage with them! For example, you can ask people on the street, ‘how did you travel here today?’ or ‘what mode did you take and why?’ Like this, you are essentially finding out directly what kind of challenges they face and then building solutions around these challenges. In general, our transport system needs to place a greater focus on end-users – including vulnerable groups who may be at risk of transport poverty. Therefore, it’s important to listen to and understand the barriers people face and the needs they have, as this can help create more meaningful services. 

It could also be interesting to select a specific factor that contributes towards transport poverty and then brainstorm on how to tackle it. Transport adequacy, for example, where it’s important to improve unsafe travel conditions and remove barriers like uneven paving, obstacles, steps, etc. Or think about affordability and try to eliminate the burden of high costs. Finally, I think it’s useful for cities to also check out what is happening in other cities. There are so many nice examples that others can learn from or replicate. 

 
Learn more about the European Passengers’ Federation on their website here or follow them on their LinkedIn page.