At Aubin, co-production isn’t just a tick box exercise; it’s central to our mission. We believe that for inclusive design to be effective, it must be user-led and grounded in real-world lived experience.

That’s why we were delighted when ATLAS, a Surrey County Council participation group for young people with disabilities and additional needs, reached out to trial Aubin.

The Need: Planning Independent Journeys

The trial was driven by a need identified by ATLAS participants themselves: the necessity for clearer, more accessible information about public transport. More importantly, they needed a way to plan independent journeys that truly suited their individual needs.

Over the summer, the ATLAS group conducted a structured trial. They didn’t just look at journey planning; they evaluated every aspect of the travel experience, including:

• Ease of use and navigation
• Comfort and communication
• Overall accessibility and the travel environment

Key Feedback from Our Focus Group

In September, we met with the participants for a focus group to hear their honest feedback firsthand. This session was invaluable, providing clear validation, new ideas, and critical areas for improvement.
Here’s what we learned:

• What Works Well: Participants found features like the customisable autism card and the mindfulness technique genuinely helpful.
• The Vision: They want to see more features like this, reinforcing the idea of Aubin as a “travel companion” rather than just another journey planner.
• The Big Idea: This feedback aligned perfectly with our current focus on providing more holistic travel guidance and advice. The group helped us identify the specific information users need to feel helped and reassured on their journeys.
• The Challenge: We identified a priority to improve the mechanism for reporting issues or incorrect information within the app, allowing us to improve continuously with direct user input.

Our Next Steps: Driven by Lived Experience

This partnership has done more than just validate our ideas. The detailed, honest feedback from the ATLAS participants has led to new suggestions being added directly to our future Aubin roadmap.

We want to extend a huge thank you to Lucy, the entire ATLAS team, and all the amazing participants. Taking the time to trial Aubin and share your experiences is what makes genuine, user-led design possible. Meeting and learning from you all was truly one of the best parts of the job.