1. User profile & context (implicit)

• Regular public transport user, primarily train weekly (university commute) and bus socially (nights out).
• Has access to a car, but selectively chooses public transport.
• Lives rurally / semi-rurally, near a station but with limited service frequency.
• Digitally confident, uses multiple apps (Translink, Google Maps, Google Pay).
• Values reliability, predictability, and cognitive ease.

This user is not anti–public transport; they are strategic and pragmatic in how they use it.

2. Core motivations for using public transport

Key drivers

• Avoiding traffic uncertainty
• Reduced mental load compared to driving
• Comfort and productivity, especially on trains
• Parking cost and availability issues in urban centres (e.g. Belfast)

Public transport is chosen when it reduces stress, not necessarily when it’s “perfect”.

Barriers that push them back to driving

• Transporting large or cumbersome items
• Complex journeys with multiple transfers
• Low-frequency rural services