Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Urban Transport Consultant

🎯 Role Definition

An Urban Transport Consultant advises public agencies, private developers, and international donors on planning, designing, modelling and implementing efficient, equitable and sustainable urban transport systems. The consultant leads transport assessments, demand forecasting, policy development, stakeholder engagement and business cases for multimodal networks — including public transport, active travel (walking & cycling), micro-mobility, and road-based modes — using data-driven transport modelling, cost-benefit analysis and practical implementation advice.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Transport Planner / Assistant Transport Planner
Civil Engineer with traffic experience
Urban Planner with mobility specialization
Data Analyst focused on transport or GIS

Advancement To:

Senior Urban Transport Consultant
Principal / Lead Transport Planner
Project Director — Transport & Mobility
Head of Sustainable Mobility / Practice Lead

Lateral Moves:

Transport Policy Advisor (local or national government)
Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) Product Manager
Sustainable Infrastructure Finance Advisor
Road Safety Auditor / Traffic Safety Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead and deliver multimodal transport planning studies including strategic transport assessments, corridor studies, and area-based mobility plans that integrate public transport, active travel, micro-mobility and freight considerations.
Design and implement travel demand forecasting models (e.g., four-step models, activity-based models) and calibrate models to local survey, traffic count and transit ridership data to produce reliable future-year scenarios.
Prepare and run traffic micro- and macro-simulation models (e.g., VISSIM, AIMSUN, VISUM, SATURN) to evaluate network performance, queueing, signal timings and junction layouts and to recommend operational improvements.
Conduct transport impact assessments (TIAs) and traffic generation studies for planning applications and development proposals, producing mitigation measures and section 106 / infrastructure contributions where required.
Undertake public transport network design and timetable optimization, including service planning, frequency analysis, stop spacing recommendations and integration with feeder and active travel networks.
Develop business cases, economic appraisals and cost–benefit analyses for transport investments using established frameworks (e.g., WebTAG, BCR, NPV, IRR) to support funding applications and investment decisions.
Lead stakeholder engagement and consultation processes with local authorities, transport operators, community groups, developers and statutory consultees to build consensus and incorporate feedback into project designs.
Deliver feasibility studies and concept designs for walking and cycling infrastructure, including route selection, cross-section design, intersection treatments, and priority measures for safe and inclusive active travel.
Advise on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), traffic signal coordination, dynamic signage, and data-driven traffic management strategies to improve efficiency and reduce congestion.
Prepare grant proposals, technical reports, tender documents, memos and clear client-facing deliverables (presentations, executive summaries, dashboards) that translate technical analysis into actionable recommendations.
Manage transport-related data collection programs including household travel surveys, origin-destination surveys, automated traffic counts, ATC/ANPR data, bus GPS and farebox data, and ensure data quality and GDPR-compliant handling.
Integrate land use and transport planning by assessing accessibility outcomes, mode share impacts, parking strategies and TOD (transit-oriented development) potential for proposed developments.
Conduct road safety audits and collision analysis to identify high-risk locations and propose engineering, enforcement and education interventions to reduce serious injury collisions.
Provide technical review and peer review for planning applications, environmental assessments and transport strategies prepared by third parties to ensure compliance with local policy and national guidance.
Advise on freight and logistics planning, last-mile delivery solutions, loading/unloading strategy, and curbside management to balance commercial needs with urban liveability and safety.
Support policy development on congestion charging, low emission zones, parking policy, and demand management tools to shift travel behaviour toward sustainable modes.
Design monitoring and evaluation frameworks (KPIs, before/after studies) for transport schemes and pilot projects, including data capture plans and success metrics for scaling or decommissioning.
Provide procurement support and technical specifications for transport infrastructure contracts, from RFP/RFQ drafting to evaluation of technical bids and supplier negotiations.
Coordinate multi-disciplinary project teams including urban designers, civil engineers, environmental specialists and economists to deliver integrated, implementable mobility solutions.
Prepare and present evidence at planning appeals, public inquiries and stakeholder committees, articulating technical findings and defending recommendations to regulators and elected officials.
Incorporate equity, accessibility and inclusion principles into transport designs and policies, conducting distributional impact analysis and ensuring compliance with accessibility standards.
Keep abreast of emerging mobility trends (e.g., shared mobility, micromobility, EV infrastructure, MaaS) and translate innovation into pragmatic pilot proposals and scale-up plans for clients.
Develop training materials and deliver capacity-building workshops for municipal staff or client teams on transport modelling, active travel promotion, and network planning best practices.
Manage budgets, timelines and quality assurance processes for transport projects, ensuring timely delivery within scope and maintaining client satisfaction.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests, produce exploratory data analysis and create visual dashboards to inform rapid client decisions and iterative scheme design.
Contribute to the organization’s transport strategy, thought leadership outputs, and business development activities (proposals, statements of qualifications, case studies).
Translate client policy goals into measurable transport outcomes and technical requirements for implementation teams.
Participate in agile and waterfall project workflows, sprint planning and cross-functional meetings to align modelling deliverables with design and procurement milestones.
Provide technical mentorship to junior consultants, review their analyses and uplift team modelling and report-writing standards.
Assist in the preparation of model inputs and scenario definitions for climate resilience and environment-focused transport appraisals.
Maintain and document modelling libraries, templates and standard operating procedures to increase efficiency and reproducibility across projects.
Coordinate with GIS teams to produce high-quality cartographic outputs for reports, public consultation materials and interactive web maps.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Travel demand forecasting and transport modelling (four-step, ABM) — calibration, validation and scenario analysis.
Experience with traffic simulation and network modelling tools (VISSIM, AIMSUN, VISUM, SATURN or similar).
Proficiency in GIS tools (ArcGIS, QGIS) for accessibility analysis, mapping and spatial data processing.
Programming and data analysis: Python, R, MATLAB or similar for data processing, model scripting and reproducible workflows.
SQL and database management for handling large transport datasets (counts, ticketing, GPS trace, O-D matrices).
Familiarity with transport appraisal and economic evaluation frameworks (WebTAG, BCR, NPV, sensitivity testing).
Public transport planning and scheduling experience, including demand estimation and operational feasibility.
Knowledge of road safety analysis techniques, collision data handling and Safe System interventions.
Experience with ITS, traffic signal modelling and operational traffic management strategies.
Strong report writing, technical specification drafting and presentation skills for both technical and non-technical audiences.
Competence in data visualization tools (Tableau, Power BI, or D3.js) to create dashboards and stakeholder-facing visuals.
Understanding of planning policy, parking policy, congestion pricing, accessibility metrics and sustainability principles.
Tendering, procurement and contract management experience for transport infrastructure and services.
Experience conducting public consultation, community engagement and stakeholder workshops.
Familiarity with accessibility standards, inclusive design and equity assessments for transport projects.

Soft Skills

Excellent written and verbal communication, with ability to present complex technical analysis in plain language.
Strong stakeholder management and facilitation skills to build consensus across public, private and community groups.
Analytical problem-solving with attention to detail and capacity to translate data into actionable recommendations.
Project management and organisational skills: budgeting, scheduling, risk identification and resource allocation.
Client-facing consultative mindset: proactive, responsive and commercially aware.
Collaborative team player who can coordinate multidisciplinary inputs, mentor juniors and resolve conflicts.
Adaptability and resilience to work across multiple projects, jurisdictions and policy contexts.
Strategic thinking: align transport interventions with wider urban development, climate and social objectives.
Ethical judgement and commitment to inclusive, equitable mobility outcomes.
Presentation and training delivery skills for workshops, webinars and capacity building.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Transport Planning, Civil Engineering, Urban Planning, Geography, Environmental Science, Data Science with a transport focus, or related field.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree in Transport Planning, Transport Engineering, Urban Planning, Mobility Studies, Transport Economics, or a closely related discipline.
Professional certifications (e.g., CEng, CTP, PMP, Prince2) are advantageous.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Transport Planning and Engineering
Urban and Regional Planning
Civil Engineering (with transport specialization)
Transport Economics
GIS and Spatial Analysis
Data Science / Statistics (applied to mobility)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–10 years in transport planning, traffic engineering, or consultancy roles (varies by seniority).

Preferred:

5+ years of professional experience delivering transport studies, modelling, or policy advice; at least some consultancy or client-facing project delivery background.
Demonstrated experience across multiple transport modes (public transport, active travel, freight) and with at least one major modelling or simulation tool.
Track record of authoring technical reports, presenting to decision-makers, and managing stakeholder consultation processes.