Future mobility concepts, such as Shared Autonomous Mobility-on-Demand (SAMOD) services, have the potential to contribute to sustainability goals and enhance connectivity between rural areas and urban public transport networks. The SAMOD concept relies on virtual stops, accessible via a smartphone application, where passengers are individually picked up. This study analyzed the importance of six key attributes of a SAMOD journey: travel time, price, available information, distance to the stop, navigation to the virtual stop, and identification of the virtual stop. Using a choice-based conjoint analysis (N = 461), participants were repeatedly presented with two SAMOD journey options, each varying in attributes, and were asked to indicate their preference. The findings reveal that all six attributes significantly influenced travel decisions. Subgroup analyses further indicated that the importance of these attributes varied by gender, age, travel context, and frequency of public transport use. Notably, SAMOD-specific attributes, such as navigation to and identification of the virtual stop, were rated as nearly as critical as traditional factors like travel time and cost. Based on these findings, actionable recommendations for transport planners and policymakers are proposed to facilitate the successful implementation of SAMOD services.

Still, little is known about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mobility habits of persons with disabilities. The paper focuses on the research question how people with disabilities assessed the effects of the pandemic on their mobility behaviour. An online survey assessed data of a total of 745 people with disabilities from 21 European countries. Data was collected at two points in time: winter of 2020/2021 (n = 553) and summer 2022 (n = 181). Survey respondents were asked whether the pandemic affected their mobility behaviour in terms of six aspects: 1) willingness to travel, 2) difficulty of traveling, 3) comfort, 4) dependency on others, 5) length of journeys and 6) safety. Nearly 60% strongly agreed that the pandemic made them less willing to travel. Almost half stated that the pandemic made their journeys more difficult, less safe and less comfortable. The effect of the pandemic on users’ mobility behaviour was assessed to be greater in winter 2020/2021 than in summer 2022. The analysis revealed some interesting variations between the various kinds of disabilities in the way in which they assessed mobility changes. It was shown that female respondents tended to feel less safe, more dependent on others and less willing to travel compared to men.