Equity and Social Inclusion
Equity and social inclusion in transport encapsulate the principle that transport systems should be designed and implemented to serve all members of society equitably, without discrimination or exclusion. This concept emphasises fair access and inclusion to mobility opportunities, irrespective of socioeconomic status, age, gender, or ability (for a deeper look into POLIS’ work on the topics of gender and accessibility, please click here and here).
Positive impacts of achieving equity and social inclusion in transport include enhanced community connectivity, improved economic prospects for marginalised groups, and a more cohesive and vibrant urban fabric. Instead, a lack of attention to these principles can reinforce existing inequalities, perpetuating social disparities and hindering economic mobility.
POLIS' approach to equity and social inclusion
Challenges in promoting equity and social inclusion in transport range from systemic discrimination to inadequate infrastructure. POLIS addresses these challenges following a multifaceted approach that encompasses:
- Advocating for policy reforms and actions on the matter — eg, Just Transition Agenda, Just Transition Taskforce, Just Transition Webinar Series, social media campaigns about International Women’s Day, Pride and Disability Pride Month;
- Fostering collaboration and exchange amongst its members — eg, promoting the gender mainstreaming approach of Vienna (more here and here) and the accessibility mainstreaming approach of Leuven (more here, here, and here), investigating the smart public transport system of Gipuzkoa and the broader topic of digital inclusion, highlighting the work of Catalonia, Île-de-France and others on matters of sexual harassment and safety in public transport, etc;
- Exploring new topics of equity and social inclusion, such as automation and digitalisation and their implications on the transport workforce (more here—exploring the topic about freight, and here), queer mobilities (more here, here, here, and here), fat erasure in active transport, and women working in transport (more here and here);
- Participating in projects focused on creating or promoting transport systems and solutions that cater to the diverse needs of all citizens—check more WE-TRANSFORM, SMALL, ELABORATOR, UPPER, Sum4ALL, INDIMO, and INCLUSION.

PT Lab – Importance of public transport for young and older people

Registrations are now open for the POLIS Leadership Summit in Rome!

POLIS launches its Women’s History Month 2025 campaign!

Join ELABORATOR as an Observer City for sustainable urban transformation

Brussels Bubble Band meet to discuss implementation of key EU policies

The MOBILITYAWARDS finalists have been revealed!

Save the date for the MOBILITYAWARDS ceremony!

Diversity is high on the EU agenda for 2025!

SMALL launches second Insights Paper on implementing inclusive shared mobility pilots

Celebrating youth climate changemakers on World Cities Day 2024

Get inspired by our members and apply for the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK awards!

Breaking Barriers: Interview with Wheels for Wellbeing on inclusive cycling

ELABORATOR unveils Evaluation Plan for measuring inclusive mobility

POLIS publishes fourth edition of Cities in motion magazine

SMALL heads to Amsterdam to foster inclusive shared mobility

POLIS x Pride 2024: Safe by design

New report calls for greater inclusion and diversity in transport sector

City of Amsterdam signs Global Compact on Inclusive and Accessible Cities

Join the HL4EU Call for Action: Support Healthy Lifestyles in Europe

From listening to empowering: Ensuring women’s safety in public transport

ELABORATOR publishes its Inclusion Plan!

POLIS and SCALE join forces to promote gender diversity in the mobility workforce

Glasgow stays true to its feminist urbanism principles!

POLIS kicks off its Women’s History Month 2024 campaign!

Who is going to win the EmpowerWISM programme 2024?

Member in the Spotlight: Groningen

Unlocking inclusive shared mobility: Join SMALL’s new roundtable in Amsterdam

The insights from the ShareDiMobiHub Academy are now available!

POLIS’ manifesto for the European elections goes live at the Brussels Bubble Band meeting

EGUM adopts its first recommendations!

EP and Council reach a deal on EU Disability and Parking cards

Budapest is among the 2023 EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award finalists!

ACUTE/UERA Seminar: Programme now available!

European Gender Equality Week holds uncomfortable questions for the transport sector

EU Regions Week showed active regional involvement to support transport workers

SMALL goes to Copenhagen! Partners convene for latest project meeting

Stakeholders define the future agenda for transport jobs with WE-TRANSFORM

POLIS and EUROCITIES call for strong Euro 7 standards to improve air quality

SMALL launches first Insights paper on inclusive shared mobility

Upcoming Just Transition Webinar showcases urban mobility projects

EU will boost free movement for persons with disabilities

POLIS publishes second volume of magazine Cities in motion!

Celebrating Disability Pride Month: making sustainable mobility work for everyone

Urban Public Space Design project cluster kicks off for collaboration
OUT(bound) and proud with TfL’s Colleague Network Group

WE-TRANSFORM gathers stakeholders in Vienna for the fifth time

Loud, proud, and always mobilising inclusive mobility

A new EU project is on the Horizon: meet ELABORATOR!

Gender balance in the transport sector: A toolkit for change

Shifting Perspectives: Accessibility, Inclusion, and the Impact of Automation and Digitalisation on Jobs

SMALL successfully holds 1st Expert Roundtable

Urban Freight Just Transition Webinar: “Delivering the jobs”

Enter the TRA VISIONS 2024 competitions!

Say “Hello!” to SMAPE project

Transport workforce transition: Action!

Democratising mobility: Isabel Cunha discusses equitable cycling

Partnerships for change: EMT Madrid & Comillas University discuss their Women in STEM Chair

Madrid donates 32 buses to Ukraine

Answer EU survey on accessible and inclusive recharging infrastructure

SMCs Just Transition Webinar: Gender equity comes in… small packages?

SMALL looking for external experts for 1st Expert Roundtable

Regions Just Transition Webinar: Putting the periphery at the core

POLIS named as pioneer in new publication on gender equal mobility

Women shifting gear! Meet the women behind the sustainable mobility transition

Active Travel Just Transition Webinar: Best foot & wheel forward

Access Just Transition Webinar: “That’s not feasible without a car”

Check out POLIS’ 2023 project line-up!

Apply now to Urban95 Academy for designing child-friendly cities!

POLIS launches two new thematic Taskforces to support the membership

SMALL puts the focus on shared mobility for ALL

Registrations now open for the Just Transition Webinar series!

INDIMO shares key policy recommendations on inclusive transport

INDIMO, TRIPS, and DIGNITY joined forces in Final Conference

POLIS launches Just Transition webinar series

POLIS unveils its brand-new magazine ‘Cities in motion’!

INDIMO launches promotional video!

An autumn of action! POLIS’ Working Group meetings

Steps ahead! The future of Barcelona’s superblock

TRIPS project launches a survey investigating inclusive public transport

Achieving gender parity in the transport sector – Complete the survey

The future’s bright, the future’s young! Youth engagement in the green transition

Apply to the European Mobility Week award for Mobility Actions

Access Working Group explores car reduction, from research to action!

Sign the Reimagining Mobility Manifesto today!

Transport and energy poverty are discussed in new EC paper

UWE Bristol and Sustrans tackle fair bus fares for youngsters

Disability Pride Month: How cities can become proud champions of accessibility

SuM4All: Closing the transport sector’s gender gap

Catalonia confronts sexual harassment in public transport

Registration for the Annual POLIS Conference 2022 is now open!

INDIMO discusses tool at 4th Co-creation Workshop

POLIS x Pride 2022: Mind the queer public transport gap

All hands on deck at POLIS’ Glasgow Leadership Summit!

POLIS x Pride 2022: Queering public space for all

Sustrans publishes new Walking and Cycling Index

INDIMO partners gather in Berlin and hold a Design Hackathon

Registrations for Urban Mobility Days 2022 are now open

Leadership Summit in Glasgow: Registrations open!

Save the date for the Urban Mobility Days 2022!

POLIS members among finalists for the European Capitals of Inclusion and Diversity Award!

Bloomberg Philanthropies announces expansion of Asphalt Art to Europe!

2 years of INDIMO: A total success!

Sustrans, Living Streets and ARUP team up for guide on making walking and wheeling inclusive

Women in transport, STEMing the gap

Urban Transport Group publishes report on future of e-scooters

Breaking the silence: tackling gender-based harassment

Gender-equal mobility: can we #BreakTheBias?

SAVE THE DATE for the Annual POLIS Conference 2022

POLIS’ Secretary General joins ALICE’s panel on International Women’s Day

Leuven is the ‘Best Open-Minded Destination in Europe’

POLIS’ Working Groups: what is on the agenda?

POLIS’ Public Transport Lab ends, but the dialogue continues

Gender equality and leadership: Mobilising real change

Public Transport Lab addresses sexual harassment on Public Transport

Creating inclusive transit: POLIS Public Transport Lab explores

Autumn working group meetings

POLIS launches the Public Transport Lab, a webinar series on the future of public transport

Île-de-France Mobilités and SNCF facilitate transport journeys for visually impaired

Security of Public Transport Facilities: an effective approach

Gothenburg’s automated mobility and citizen engagement

Research reveals harassment on Barcelona’s public transport

Bilbao wins 2021 EU Road Safety Award

Social inclusion in mobility planning: Take part in the European Commission’s study

Call for cities: Neighbourhood mobility fix from SUNRISE

Under her own steam: Closing the mobility gender gap

Inclusion: Accessibility at its best

Madrid: Women at the top

Lisbon: A truly intersectional mobility agenda

Vienna: The godmother of gender mainstreaming

Catalonia launches ‘’Clic.cat”, a new on-demand transport service

Check out the Mobility Divide Index by the TRIPS project and provide your feedback!

New publication explains how co-creation can improve urban mobility in neighbourhoods

Get to know the new We-Transform project!

A neighbourhood in Budapest co-creates mobility solutions with its citizens

INCLUSION project releases guidance for a fair(er) transport system

POLIS members and experts discuss gender perspectives in mobility

Madrid creates “Women and Safe Transport” observatory

Mobilising Mobility Webinar Series: November

Join us at Autonomy’s Get Our Cities Moving programme

For a more inclusive, equitable and accessible mobility – The INCLUSION toolbox

ITDP Tool provides Global Analysis of Walkability

Four projects final conference: “Towards sustainable mobility – one neighbourhood at a time”

Mobilising Mobility Webinar Series: October

Cycling for everyone: Member Sustrans fosters the UK walking and cycling agenda

REGISTRATIONS OPEN: Inclusive mobility for an inclusive society: new approaches and solutions

SAVE THE DATE: Inclusive mobility for an inclusive society: new approaches and solutions – 22 September 2020

Post-Lockdown Mobility: Serving the Underserved

Register for the webinar on 25 June – Serving the Underserved: The impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable people in remote (sub)urban and rural areas

INDIMO project on inclusive digital mobility launches new website

Meet INDIMO: making digital mobility more inclusive and accessible for all

Why Co-Creation matters

Inspiration and guidance on inclusive transport from the INCLUSION project

Call for Sessions at Urbanism Next Europe 2020 is OPEN
Polis to co-organise European Urbanism Next Conference

Become a host organisation for the H2020 HiReach project

Baden-Württemberg: The LEZ of Stuttgart delivers good results
A successful INCLUSION mid-term dissemination event in Groningen (The Netherlands)
Do SUMPs promote inclusion and transport justice? Agenda available now!
Call for Submissions for TRA2020 open until 31 May
The GECKO project is looking for New Mobility Stakeholders

NACTO Shared-Micromobility in 2018 Report is now available!
Île-de-France steps it up with 641 new clean buses for the Grande Couronne

Making transport more accessible and inclusive for all: new approaches and solutions, 18 June 2019 – Groningen (NL).

Upcoming Polis Working Group meetings in 2019
Call for abstracts: 6th International Conference on Women’s Issues in Transportation
How to make transport more accessible and inclusive for vulnerable users? Read the INCLUSION second newsletter!
NEMO, the new mobility design conference in Brussels
The INCLUSION project at GO MOBILITY: 27-28 November, Irun (Spain)
Draft programme of 2018 Polis Conference released
2017 Polis Conference: Programme launched and registrations open!
- Related Events
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MOBILITYAWARDS Ceremony and Workshops 2025

CARIN-PT Final Conference: Towards Inclusive Public Transport in Urban Regions

HL4EU Community Building Conference

Active Travel & Health Working Group webinar: Active travel for all ages

Walk21 Portugal 2024

Just Transition Webinar: Embracing gender equity in urban transport – Insights from leading cities

Just Transition Webinar: Advancing the Just Transition in Urban Mobility Projects

WE-TRANSFORM Workshop in German: Automisation and digitalisation in the transport sector

Urban Mobility Days 2023

WE-TRANSFORM 6th Stakeholder Forum Workshop

MobiDataLab Hackathon

WE-TRANSFORM 5th Stakeholder Forum Workshop

Autonomy Paris: Autonomy Mobility World Expo 2023

WE-TRANSFORM 4th Stakeholder Workshop

TRIPS, INDIMO, and DIGNITY Joint Final Conference

2022 Annual POLIS Conference

WE-TRANSFORM First Webinar: What jobs and what workers in automated and digital transport services?

Training on Planning for Autonomous Mobility

5th INDIMO Co-creation Community Workshop: Transferability of the INDIMO tools to a wider European context

Access Working Group Webinar: Interventions to reduce car use in European cities

Urban Mobility Days 2022

INDIMO Co-creation Workshop: Finalisation of the Service and Policy Evaluation Tool

Go Mobility by MUBIL Tradeshow

PUTSPACE Conference: Public Transport as Public Space

INDIMO-SPROUT Webinar: Planning for a more inclusive transition of urban mobility

Governance & Integration working group meeting: Leadership for change

Join INDIMO’s third Co-creation Workshop! Co-creating the INDIMO policy evaluation tool

Public Transport Lab: Overcoming barriers, inclusiveness in public transport systems

Sustainable Mobility Requires a New Policy Approach Today, Knowledge Exchange Course
Towards a Universal Design Manual: 2nd INDIMO Co-creation Workshop

“What do users want?”: Join the first the INDIMO public webinar on 11 March!

CEDR Collaborative Planning Final Conference

Governance & Integration Working Group meeting: Gender Perspectives in Mobility

Mobilising Mobility: For a more inclusive, equitable and accessible mobility – The INCLUSION toolbox

Safety and Security Working Group Meeting: Security of Women in Public Transport

Mobilising Mobility: How to make mobility work for all – embracing inclusiveness

Inclusive mobility for an inclusive society: new approaches and solutions – 22 September 2020

Centre for EU Transport Projects workshop: Accessibility of Public Transport to All

Register for the webinar on 25 June – Serving the Underserved: The impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable people in remote (sub)urban and rural areas

3rd CoMotion LA Leadership Conference
Making transport more accessible and inclusive for all: new approaches and solutions

Cities in motion – Volume IV: ‘Pathways for Progress’
POLIS Manifesto for the 2024 European Elections

Cities in motion – Volume II: ‘Leadership for action’
Urban Freight Just Transition Webinar report
Just Transition webinar infographic
Small and Medium-sized Cities Just Transition Webinar report
Regions Just Transition Webinar report
Active Travel & Health Just Transition Webinar report
Access Just Transition Webinar report

Cities in motion – Volume I: ‘The 15-year city’
Urbanism Next Europe 2020 – Call for Sessions and Speakers
Polis Position on the upcoming decarbonisation transport strategy
More EU Budget for Transport
Endurance fact sheet Aberdeen
Endurance fact sheet Grenoble
Building capacity and resilience in communities in relation to the increased diagnosis of dementia
Government in search of the most cost efficient demand-oriented transport model
Mobility in ageing cities – Conclusions
Mobility in ageing cities – EU Polis Summary for urban transport
Mobility in ageing cities – Meeting report
Smart bicycle for elderly and disabled and influence behaviour of elderly by trainings
The importance of exercise/physical activity for physical and mental vitality in older people
Welcome “Getting on track: accessible transport for older people”
Member in the Spotlight: Milan’s approach on cultivating its “Transport Chi”
Member in the Spotlight: Barcelona uses technology for improving its mobility systems
Member in the Spotlight: In Manchester, the human scale is an essential part of the smart city concept
The Bristol Method: How to create liveable Communities
The Bristol Method: How to get more People riding Bikes and walking
The Bristol Method: How to increase Public Transport Use
The Bristol Method: How to reduce Traffic and its Impacts
Thinking Cities #5
Member in the Spotlight: The year of living sustainably in Bristol
Member in the Spotlight: Thessaloniki’s tremendous effort to implement SUMP in a difficult working environment
