From Risks to Routes: Human-Centered Development of a Multi-Platform Planning Support System for Safer School Commutes

The daily school commute plays a crucial role in developing children’s ability to travel independently. In Germany, school route plans, which are maps that highlight safe paths and danger zones, are a well-established way of improving the safety of school commutes. However, over half of municipalities lack such plans, often due to limited resources and the significant coordination effort required. In this paper, we present a human-centered approach to developing a multi-platform planning support system designed to facilitate the creation of school route plans. Through low-fidelity prototyping and iterative user research involving planners, parents, and mobility experts, we identified key functional requirements. The resulting software prototype includes a mobile app for data collection and a desktop application for plan creation. This paper details the user research, derived requirements and the implementation of the system. Our approach shows how digital tools can support local authorities and lower barriers to participation for parents and children.