Information and Orientation
Providing clear information, maps, online route planning, booking system, and mobile apps makes it easier for users to combine active and public transport. These tools improve journey planning, reduce uncertainty, support multi-modal trips, and encourage sustainable, convenient, and user-friendly mobility.
Information to Users and Maps: Online and Offline
Providing clear and accessible information is essential for supporting active and public transport integration. Maps whether printed at stations or available online, help users understand routes, connections, and first- and last-mile options, reducing uncertainty and travel stress. Effective information includes not only routes but also service frequency, accessibility features, and relevant infrastructure and amenities such as bicycle spaces on trains, bike racks on busses, availability, bike parking facilities, pedestrian paths, seating options or water points.
Both online and offline maps increase user confidence and enable better planning. Digital maps allow for real-time updates and quick access from everywhere, while offline or printed maps ensure accessibility for those without mobile devices or internet access. By offering comprehensive and user-friendly information, transport authorities, municipalities, and regional or national mobility agencies make it easier for travellers to combine active modes with public transport, encouraging multi-modal journeys and sustainable mobility.
Pilot Action
Improved information in existing apps and tools
Velo Romania
Velo Romania expands Romania’s cycling map into a powerful multimodal mobility tool. By adding layers that show bike-friendly public transport—train stations, bus stops, ferries, bike racks, and bike-sharing hubs—the platform helps travellers discover how cycling and transit connect across the country. With clearer data and smarter mapping, it reveals new ways to plan flexible bike-and-ride journeys.
Good Practice
Bike+Ride+Hike information on a website: Bwegt Bicycle Carriage + Bwegt Hiking Trails
The passenger information measures ‘Bwegt Bicycle Carriage’ and ‘Bwegt Hiking Trails’ are elements of a broader sustainable mobility initiative by the federal state Baden-Württemberg. They effectively promote the combination of cycling and hiking with public transport through simple and transparent regulations on bicycle carriage, clear information, digital maps, and suggestions for combined trips.
Online Route Planning and Booking
Online route planning with booking tools makes it easier for users to combine active and public transport. They allow travellers to find optimal routes, check schedules, compare travel times, and plan first- and last-mile connections efficiently. Integrated booking platforms can also facilitate multi-modal trips, including bike-sharing or e-scooter rentals, helping users navigate through complex networks with minimal effort. Inclusive route planers consider the specific needs of e.g. visually impaired people when providing information about walking/pedestrian routes to selected destinations.
These tools support convenience, reduce travel friction, and increase public transport attractiveness. By integrating ticketing and route planning into one platform, operators can improve ridership, enhance user satisfaction, and encourage sustainable transport choices. Reliable digital planning and booking systems help travellers make informed decisions and strengthen the link between active and public transport modes.
Good Practice
Budapest GO route planning website
The Budapest GO website (futar.bkk.hu) is a route planner tool that allows travellers to plan their journeys by walking, cycling, and public transport. While it already offers several useful features, what makes it stand out is its unique trip planning mode. This feature enables users to plan trips by combining Budapest’s public shared bike system (Bubi) or their own bicycle with the public transportation system, creating a more flexible and integrated way to travel.
Mobile Apps
Mobile apps are powerful tools for supporting active mobility and public transport integration. They can provide real-time information, personalized route suggestions, alerts for service changes or booking system, helping travellers adapt on the go. Apps can also include features such as bike-sharing availability, step counters, and reminders for first- and last-mile options, making active travel more convenient and engaging.
Beyond navigation, mobile apps enhance user experience and could promote sustainable mobility habits. They also allow operators to collect anonymized data on travel behavior, which can improve service planning and infrastructure investment. By combining information, booking, and active travel features in a single app, users can enjoy a smooth, flexible, and reliable multi-modal journey.
Good Practice
Not Without My Bike
“Not Without My Bike” is a journey-planning app from Trufi Association that puts cyclists first. Designed for the city of Hamburg, it helps users discover the best ways to combine biking with public transport, revealing routes that are faster, smarter, and often unexpected. Whether you ride a little or a lot, the app shows how your bike can become the key to moving through the city more freely, choosing surprising routes you might never have discovered otherwise.
Learn more
The project Active2Public Transport is supported by the Interreg Danube Region Programme project co-funded by the European Union. The project was initiated by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI), Department II/6 in cooperation with klimaaktiv mobil – the Austrian Federal climate protection initiative on sustainable mobility.