Participant Information Sheet

HiTRANS: GO-HI Mobility as a Service project

You are being invited to take part in a research project. Before you decide it is important for you to
understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the
following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. Ask us if there is anything that is
not clear or if you would like more information. Take time to decide whether or not you wish to take
part.

What is the purpose of the project?

The purpose of this research study is to learn more about the transport and technology needs and
preferences of people living in the area of Scotland covered by HiTRANS. The survey is part of an
evaluation and monitoring framework set established for HITRANS: GO-HI Mobility as a Service
(MaaS) project. The project outlined an ambitious region-wide solution that will be available to
residents, businesses, and tourists alike living in the area of Scotland covered by HiTRANS with the
user app to be known as Go-HI. The service will be launched in March 2021. This study is being
conducted by Dr Kate Pangbourne and Dr Zahara Batool from the University of Leeds on behalf of
HiTRANS and other partners in the project.

Why have I been chosen?

You have been approached randomly to take part in the project as you are resident of the area. You
have not been selected for any other reason; you simply represent one of the thousands residents of
the HiTrans region.

Do I have to take part?

It is up to you to decide whether to take part. If you do decide to take part, you can retain this
information sheet. You will be asked to give your Consent before completing online survey.
Participation in this study is entirely voluntary and you can withdraw by not completing the survey.
You do not have to give a reason.

What do I have to do?/ What will happen to me if I take part?

We would like to invite you to take part in an online survey (Link here). The survey will take you
approximately ten minutes to complete and has three sections to understand your current travel
behaviours (i.e. how you usually travel within your local area and beyond), your intentions for future
travel based on the current assumptions about the phased COVID-19 lockdown release, your
attitudes towards new mobile and transport technologies and some demographic information. You do
not have to answer any questions you do not want to. There are no right or wrong answers, we are
just interested in your opinion.

What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?

We believe there are no known risks associated with this research study; however, as with any online
related activity the risk of a breach is always possible. To the best of our ability your participation in
this study will remain confidential, and only anonymised data will be stored and published. We will
minimise any risks by securely deleting the data from the online survey provider once data collection
is complete.

What are the possible benefits of taking part?

Whilst there are no immediate benefits for those people participating in the project, it is hoped that this
work has the potential to make a significant contribution to improved accessibility in the region, to
demonstrate technological innovation and to offer good practice in MaaS application for other similar
regions.

Use, dissemination, and storage of research data

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The raw data will be deleted from the SmartSurvey at the end of the survey. The data (in form of
spreadsheets, data files) with anonymised participant code will be stored on the university drive for
statistical analyses purposes. This data will only be accessible to the university staff involved in the
project and will not be retained on personal computers and laptops. The findings from the analysis will
be shared with project partners to inform the development of the wider project, and there are likely to
be published articles and conference presentations that make use of the findings. Once the project
and dissemination work are completed, the data will be securely deleted (though cleaned anonymised
datasets associated with scientific publication may be deposited in Research Data Leeds subject to
agreement with project partners). The data may also be shared with another project, Stronger
Combined (https://northsearegion.eu/stronger-combined/ ), HiTRANS is a part of subjected to data
sharing agreement between the University of Leeds and partners. Further information is available via
the University of Leeds Privacy Notice.

What will happen to the results of the research project?

The data collected will be pooled with around 2000 and 5000 other residents of the HiTRANS region.
It will be analysed, and the results presented to the funder in the form of a written report. The data will
be retained for 10 years, after which it will be archived. You will not be identified individually in this
report and your data will be completely anonymous. The storage and use of research data, including
your personal data will comply with the Data Protection Act (1998), the Human Rights Act, and the
University's Code of Practice on Data Protection.

Who is organising/ funding the research?

The project is funded by the Transport Scotland MaaS Investment Fund.

Ethics approval
This study has been reviewed and given a favourable opinion by the University of Leeds (AREA)
Research Ethics Committee on XXX, ethics reference XXX.

Contact for further information

If you have any further queries please contact, please contact Dr Kate Pangbourne by emailing:
k.j.pangbourne@leeds.ac.uk.
Thank you for taking the time to read through the information. You can retain a copy of this
information sheet.

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