The problem
Public transport tenders are usually written around infrastructure, vehicles, and operational performance.
Authorities specify level of service, operational KPIs, fleet requirements, maintenance standards, and financial models. These elements are essential for running a transport system. But they rarely address how the system actually feels for the passengers.
As a result, the public transport passenger journey is often treated as a secondary outcome rather than a design objective.
This gap becomes visible soon after services begin operating. A new bus network may meet all contractual indicators while passengers struggle to navigate transfers. A newly built mobility hub may comply with technical specifications while passengers experience confusion, long walking routes, or poor information.
In passenger experience consulting projects across public transport systems, this is a recurring pattern. Passenger experience is discussed after the system is already built, when most design decisions are already locked in.
But by that point, correcting experience problems becomes expensive and operationally complex.
Why it matters
Transport tenders shape the system long before the first passenger boards a vehicle.
Once contracts are signed and infrastructure is built, changing the passenger experience becomes difficult. Infrastructure follows the specifications written during procurement, and operators optimize according to what is measured.
If tenders focus on operational performance, the system will deliver operational performance. But if tenders include public transport user experience requirements, the entire system begins to work differently.
This matters because public transport does not exist in a vacuum. It competes with the private car. And passengers make that comparison on their own terms: Is the journey reliable enough to trust? Is it fast enough to be worth it? Is it comfortable enough to choose again? A system that performs well operationally but fails on these questions will struggle to shift travel behaviour.
This becomes particularly important in integrated mobility systems where passengers move between means, such as buses, rail, and shared mobility, and spaces, such as mobility hubs and urban and rural transfer spaces. Seamless intermodal passenger experience doesn’t emerge automatically. It must be specified.
In the context of European mobility policy and SUMP implementation, passenger experience is becoming increasingly important. Cities aim to shift travel behaviour toward sustainable modes. But passengers choose systems that feel reliable, understandable, and easy to use.
Things that work
1. Define the passenger journey as a design requirement
Transport tenders should describe the product that passengers will get, not only the technical service.
This includes specifying outcomes related to:
- clarity of passenger information
- ease of transfers
- waiting experience and comfort
- wayfinding and navigation within mobility hubs
- accessibility and inclusive mobility
But listing requirements is not enough. The tender itself should reflect a coherent vision of the passenger journey, one that connects these elements into a single, end-to-end experience rather than a checklist of isolated features. When these elements become explicit requirements, operators and planners design services around the passenger journey rather than purely operational metrics.
2. Introduce passenger experience KPIs
Passenger experience can be measured in structured ways. Authorities increasingly integrate metrics such as:
- transfer ease
- information clarity
- waiting comfort and stop accessibility
- perceived reliability
- perceived safety
- ease of using MaaS platforms
These indicators complement traditional KPIs such as punctuality or headways.
In practice, embedding passenger experience thinking into the procurement process enables authorities to build accountability mechanisms that keep operators focused on what actually drives passenger decisions. When operators know they will be held to experience outcomes, they design, manage, and invest accordingly.
The bottom line
Public transport tenders determine not only how a system operates, but how passengers experience it. When passenger experience becomes part of procurement, transport systems become easier to use, more attractive, and better aligned with sustainable mobility goals.