Huseyin Ayan is a PhD candidate in the Future Mobility group at Newcastle University, specialising in Civil Engineering with a focus on public transport systems. He completed his MSc in Transport Planning and Engineering at Newcastle University. His research investigates public perception and satisfaction with light rail transit (LRT) services, exploring the factors influencing user attitudes and the complex relationships between them. To gain a comprehensive understanding of these relationships, he uses different analytical approaches, including thematic analysis, Bayesian networks, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), and machine learning algorithms. His extensive work in transport research includes the EU-funded eHUBS project, where he applied choice modelling to evaluate user behaviours in shared mobility hubs, with his findings presented at key conferences such as UTSG, IATBR, and TRB. His commitment to the transport sector extends to community engagement; he is a representative of the North East Public Transport Users Group (NEPTUG). Recognised by Newcastle University’s Community Impact Awards in 2023, he was acknowledged for his contributions to student and community initiatives. While a beginner in MATLAB, Python, and R Studio, Huseyin is proficient in SPSS, Biogeme, and transport modelling software, equipping him with foundational skills to advance research in sustainable mobility and enhance public satisfaction with transport services.

Margaret Bell CBE, PhD is Emerita Professor of Transport and Environment at Newcastle University. She pioneered research in traffic related air pollution and design intervention measures for which, in 2006 she was Honoured Commander of the British Empire for her services to Sustainable Transport and in 2019 the Rees-Hills ITSUK Lifetime Achievement Award. Emerita Professor Bell founded, in 2000, the ITSUK Smart Environment Forum to transfer knowledge into the profession, to accelerate the implementation of policy and engineering solutions to benefit the health of communities and address climate impacts. She was instrumental in setting up the instrumented City, in 1992, developing the first roadside pollution monitors, 1997 creating a fully integrated platform capturing real-time traffic, pollution and meteorological conditions. This resulted in an air quality modelling and assessment platform to forecast air pollution episodes, design interventions and evaluate their impact. Her research over four decades provided scientific evidence that air quality and carbon targets can only be met by reducing traffic. Her research over the recent decade and continues to focus travel behaviour, attitudes and barriers to switching to sustainable alternatives whilst continuing research in the role of ITS technologies, Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory to manage environmental impacts and evaluating benefits on air quality and noise of Automatic Traffic Speed Management systems on Motorways.

Dr. Dilum Dissanayake is an Associate Professor of Transportation Planning at University of Birmingham. Her passion for educating STEM careers means that she devotes time in developing research careers at postdoctoral, postgraduate, as well as undergraduate levels. Dr Dissanayake’s ambition is to further advance knowledge and skills in transport planning and data analysis to discover innovative solutions to reverse climate change and its consequences. Her research is a blend of transport planning, computing, data mining, mathematical modelling, social sciences, and behavioural sciences. She is a Royal Statistical Society Future Leader fellow in 2024 and a member of Shadow Joint Analysis Development Panel of UK Department for Transport. She was selected as one of 15 Remarkable Women in Transport in 2022 by Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI), highlighting the important contributions being made by women working within electric mobility. She acts as an Associate Editor of the IET ITS and Academic Editor of the Journal of Advanced Transportation. She holds the External Examiner role for the MSc in Transport and Planning at Cardiff University (2022-25). Dr. Dissanayake led research projects funded by Europe (eHUBS, Capitalisation) and the UK (Micromobility) during 2019-23, and held a prestigious Duo-India Professor Fellowship in 2022. She co-Leads UKRI UK-US Global Partnership project, CLEETS (£10m; 2023-28), where she leads Travel Demand Modelling Work Task.