#29: Transit Trip Report, Chicago Parking Update, and the Latest Biking and Walking Research

Welcome to The Weekly Journey - your two-minute journey through the world of mobility and beyond. Use it to stay informed, find a new go-to source, or just have a peek inside how we think. Brought to you by the team at Journey.

What a walking holiday through Northern Spain reveals about designing more inviting transit systems.

This summer, Amanda — Journey’s Transit Analytics Lead — spent time walking the Cami de Ronda and exploring Costa Brava, Barcelona, and San Sebastián. And while her trip was focused on trails and time with friends, her transit brain never turned off.

Her first impressions came via airport and intercity buses. Some were awkward — like navigating a packed Paris metro with luggage. Others were delightful — like stepping onto a Barcelona airport shuttle with real-time info, clear signs, multilingual ticket machines, and a branded experience that made her feel immediately oriented and welcome. Above all, direct and frequent connections to city centers and nearby smaller towns made it easy, and more affordable, to travel without a car.

In the U.S., investing in airport transit service isn’t a guaranteed homerun. These services can be expensive to operate at the needed frequency and span, and due to limited resources and funding, it could mean shifting resources away from routes serving daily riders. Ridership potential is also frequently overestimated. But in the right context, airport transit can act as an "ambassador" to the larger system, introducing new riders to transit. The key is to make it seamless: frequent enough that travelers and workers don’t stress about wait times, running early and late enough to match flight schedules and shifts, and integrated into the larger transportation system so people aren’t stranded. Airport transit that is infrequent, expensive, or confusing is unlikely to win repeat riders.

That ease continued in local systems. Tap-to-pay made boarding fast. Real-time screens and stop announcements added confidence. Consistent branding and signage (with universal icons) helped both visitors and locals navigate without stress. Dedicated baggage areas and priority seating showed that transit had been designed with people in mind. These seemingly small design choices build trust and comfort—critical for attracting and keeping riders.

Of course, transit in Spain and much of Europe benefits from major structural advantages: compact urban form, higher levels of funding, more frequent service, and strong political support for transit as a public good. These fundamentals matter most. But during this trip, by slowing down to “smell the transit roses,” Amanda noticed how the small touches — intuitive signage, seamless payments, thoughtful seating, and real-time information — can make transit feel more inviting and intuitive to use. While design details alone won’t transform ridership, they can help build momentum and improve the rider’s experience.

Where to start: Transit improvements take time, but many of these changes can start with small pilots. Add tap-to-pay on a high-ridership line. Launch an airport shuttle for a major event. Try multilingual signage at transfer hubs. Whether you’re walking, waiting, or boarding — every interaction shapes trust. And trust builds ridership.

Want to share your own #TransitRoses moment? Tag us or reply to this newsletter with what stood out to you on your last trip.

📖 Chicago Zoning: Chicago City Council approved some important zoning ordinance updates that reduce parking mandates and enable more affordable housing near transit. Steven Vance has the details.

🚌 New Transit Alert!: Pittsburgh Regional Transit opened the first phase of the University Line - a new BRT service that will connect Downtown Pittsburgh to Uptown and Oakland.

🚲 Biking: New research out of Germany finds that people use electric bikes in fundamentally different ways than standard bikes - and much more like cars. Interesting implications for multimodal planning moving forward.

🚶‍♀️‍➡️ Walking: A team from NYU used Meta’s Segment Anything Model to measure crossing distances at other 3 million intersections throughout the United States. Check out their work here and a summary here.

💪 Job Postings:

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Be sure to subscribe to get The Weekly Journey in your inbox or follow us on LinkedIn.