• Urban mobility and the neurodiversity movement’s pursuit of the right to the city. • The role of public transport in the autistic community’s social participation. • WHO’s ICF as an analytical framework for investigating the environmental factors. • Key barriers: sensory overload, unpredictability, socio-spatial constraints, and policy inadequacies. • Neuro-aware strategies enhancing cognitive and sensory accessibility. Urban mobility is a key mechanism through which the autistic community asserts their right to the city , more broadly representing the neurodiversity movement’s struggle for spatial justice. While public transport plays a critical role in facilitating mobility for the autistic community, limited research has examined their perspectives on how physical and social environmental factors shape their experiences and functioning in urban environments. This study aimed to examine the lived experience of autistic individuals and their caregivers in navigating public transport through the lens of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) . Employing an abductive approach, combining both inductive and deductive coding (guided by the ICF), analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with 17 participants in Sweden identified four key themes: sensory overload, unpredictability, socio-spatial constraints, and inadequate support policies and public awareness. Findings underscore the role of environmental factors in shaping autistic individuals’ experience of accessing public transport. Importantly, findings highlight that despite growing recognition of the unique challenges faced by the autistic community in accessing public transport, this awareness is yet to translate into meaningful action and public policy. Importantly, there is a need for policies that move beyond physical accessibility, incorporating neuro-aware strategies, enhancing both the cognitive and sensory accessibility of public transport.
Sarraf et al. (Sun,) studied this question.