1. How to build four types of mobility & transport surveys
Type 1: Strategic planning & long-term transportation visioning
These surveys focus on "The Big Picture." They are usually the first step in creating a City Mobility Plan or a Regional Transport Strategy.
Key Themes: Values, sustainability goals, and general satisfaction.
-
Sample Questions:
"What should be the priority for our city in 2040: speed, safety, or environmental impact?"
"How satisfied are you with the overall mobility network in your region?"
Why they are important: They help planners understand if the public's values align with political goals (e.g., carbon neutrality).
Toolbox:
For Likert scales, the best option is the Multiple choice grid
For prioritizing, Geobudgeting and Budgeting, Ranked choice or just the plain "choose the three most important goals to you" work well
Location zoom is useful if the map in the survey starts from the city or state level, but you need the respondent to map places and routes within their neighborhood/community level.
Map point and Map line elements: Placing pins on the map is easier than drawing routes, so consider if you need to know the exact routes OR if you are actually interested in where they live and where they go in their day-to-day. If it's the latter, you can simply ask them to pinpoint their home and work, and the other locations they travel to (e.g. groceries, services, recreation, schools).
Remember to add a pop-up with follow-up questions ! Ask e.g. for how frequently they go there and which mode of transport they use.
If you're worried that respondents don't want to give exact information about their home and the places they frequent, just add a grid on top of the map and ask them to pick the square where they live, where they shop, where they spend their free time etc.
Type 2: Safe routes & active travel (walking/cycling)
Many of the surveys in this list are specifically designed to improve non-motorized transport. Maptionnaire is particularly strong here because it allows users to "draw" their routes.
Key Themes: School runs, "missing links" in bike lanes, and perceived safety hotspots.
-
Sample Questions:
"Which intersection on your daily commute feels most dangerous for a cyclist?"
"Where should we add cycle lanes?"
Why they are important: These surveys identify "subjective safety" issues—places that might not have many accidents on record but feel so dangerous that people avoid using them.
Toolbox:
Map point is a great way to ask respondents to mark the dangerous spots – in the pop-up you can ask them to specify what causes it
Geobudgeting can be used to allow respondents design a safer community
Type 3: Transit optimization & "last mile" connectivity
These surveys target users of public transport (buses, trams, trains) to identify gaps in the service network.
Key Themes: Hub accessibility, service frequency, and intermodality (e.g., getting from the bus stop to your front door).
-
Sample Questions:
"How do you get from the train station to your final destination? (Walk, Scooter, Bike, Bus)"
"Where would a new mobility hub (shared bikes/cars) be most useful to you?"
Why they are important: They help optimize transit schedules and determine where to place "micro-mobility" assets like e-scooter docks.
Toolbox:
Use branching logic to target different respondent groups. E.g. ask further questions about train travel from those who use it.
Location zoom is useful if the map in the survey starts from the city or state level, but you need the respondent to map places and routes within their neighborhood/community level.
Map point and Map line elements: Placing pins on the map is easier than drawing routes, so consider if you need to know the exact routes OR if you are actually interested in where they live and where they go in their day-to-day. If it's the latter, you can simply ask them to pinpoint their home and work, and the other locations they travel to (e.g. groceries, services, recreation, schools).
Remember to add a pop-up with follow-up questions ! Ask e.g. for how frequently they go there and which bus route they use for this trip.
If you're worried that respondents don't want to give exact information about their home and the places they frequent, just add a grid on top of the map and ask them to pick the square where they live, where they shop, where they spend their free time etc. You can ask the follow-up questions that add more depth to answers with the pop-up map element.
Type 4: Project-specific feedback
These are "hyper-local" surveys focusing on a specific street, bridge, or neighborhood redevelopment.
Key Themes: Streetscape design, parking removal, and greening.
-
Sample Questions:
"We are redesigning [Street X]. Would you prefer more space for terrace seating or wider sidewalks?"
"Which of these three street layout options do you find most attractive?" (Image-based choice)
Why they are important: They reduce local friction during construction by involving residents in the design process, ensuring the final result serves the neighborhood's specific needs.
Toolbox:
Geo-Budgeting / Gamified Allocation: Respondents are given a virtual "budget" to spend on improvements (e.g., "You have $1M: would you spend it on 5 miles of bike lanes or 2 new electric buses?"). This forces prioritization.
Image-Based Multiple Choice: Instead of describing a "Protected Bike Lane" vs. a "Sharrow," show photos. This ensures the public understands exactly what infrastructure they are voting for.
Pop-up Maps: Respondents can click specific places on the map to learn more about them and to give their input.
Layering a vision image on top of the map helps the respondents to understand the proposed changes in the correct context AND enables you to get GIS data on the plan.
2. Formulating the questions: a 5-pillar framework
A comprehensive survey should organize questions into these five logical categories:
Pillar A: Current behavior (the "what")
Primary mode: "What is your most frequent mode of transport for [Commuting / Errands / Leisure]?"
Intermodality: "During a single trip, how often do you combine two or more modes (e.g., biking to a train station)?"
Frequency: "In a typical week, how many days do you use [Public Transit / Personal Car / Bicycle]?"
Pillar B: Spatial insights (the "where")
Route mapping: "Please draw the route you typically take to get to [The City Center / Work]. Click to start and double-click to finish."
Start – Destination mapping: "Pin your home"; "Pin the places where you like to spend your free time. [In the follow-up question in a pop-up] How do you get here? Where do you usually start your journey (e.g. home)?"
Barrier identification: "Are there specific intersections where you feel unsafe? Please mark them on the map and tell us why (e.g., 'Traffic moves too fast', 'Poor visibility')."
Asset mapping: "Where are the 'missing links' in our current network? Draw a line where you believe a new path or route should exist."
Pillar C: Satisfaction & perception (the "how it feels")
Safety perception: "On a scale of 1–5, how safe do you feel [Walking / Cycling / Waiting for the Bus] after dark?"
Reliability: "How satisfied are you with the punctuality of the current transit system?"
Comfort/cleanliness: "Rate the cleanliness and comfort of [Station Name / Bus Route]."
Pillar D: Future preferences & "the nudge" (the "what if")
Mode shift potential: "If a protected bike lane were built on [Street Name], would you be [Very Likely to Very Unlikely] to switch from driving to cycling?"
Prioritization: "Which of these improvements would make the biggest difference to your daily travel? (Rank: More frequency, Lower cost, Better 'Last Mile' connections, Better lighting)."
Technology adoption: "How likely are you to use a shared e-scooter or bike-share program if it were available within 500 meters of your home?"
Pillar E: Demographics (the "who")
Note: Always ask these last to avoid "survey fatigue" or privacy hesitation.
Standard metrics: Age, Gender, Employment Status.
Mobility context: "Do you have regular access to a car?" or "Do you regularly travel with children or persons with reduced mobility?" (This reveals accessibility needs).
3. Best practices for an effective M&T themed survey
Mobile-first design: Ensure the survey is easy to use on a smartphone, as many people will take the survey while on the move or in transit.
Keep it as short and dynamic as possible: Minimize scrolling and reading, and vet all your questions for any repetition. What do you absolutely need to know? What's not essential?
Avoid technical jargon: Use "Place," "Route," and "Area" instead of "Point," "Polyline," and "Polygon."
The "feedback loop": Include a landing page explaining why the data is being collected and a "Thank You" page explaining when the results will be published.
Logical branching: If a user says they "Never use the bus," the survey should skip questions about bus cleanliness and instead ask why they don't use it.