Understanding the diverse range of public attitudes towards autonomous vehicles is a vital component for their successful introduction to urban environments, to inform the design of both the vehicles themselves, the services they provide, and the future city infrastructure.

The Royal College of Art (RCA) and Commonplace are investigating benefits and concerns from a broad range of users as part of GATEway, a multi-partner project running from October 2015 - September 2017. This project will involve a series of public vehicle trials to explore the potential for autonomous technology to increase mobility and accessibility in city transportation.

The article will share first findings from an online participation tool and public workshops held June-August 2016 with invited participants including passengers with additional needs, non-drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, professional stakeholders and enthusiasts. These findings will be shared through a conference presentation.

The research aims to develop insights for design that would lead to an inclusive and socially responsible response from those developing autonomous vehicle technology, and deploy a toolkit of methods through a design guide that place citizens at the heart of the design and development process; methods previously used for new public transport solutions in other RCA projects.