#20: Austin Transit Leader Amanda Wolfe Joins Journey + Some Interesting Links

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.

Amanda Wolfe joins Journey in Austin. 🥳 

We’re excited to announce that Amanda Wolfe has joined Journey to lead our Transit Analytics practice.

Amanda brings nearly a decade of experience in transit data analytics and service planning. She specializes in developing practical data tools – balancing the rigor required for informing agency strategy with the clarity needed for effective community engagement. Furthermore, Amanda works alongside agency staff as they deploy these tools to improve bus operations, plan new transit corridors, identify emerging markets, and craft strategic visions.

At Journey, Amanda will collaborate with TDM & Curbside lead Lauren Mattern and Transit lead Dan Berez to create customer-centric mobility analytics tools for transit agencies, cities, developers, and event management. Stay tuned for upcoming product launches – including our new approach for transit market analysis and a sketch planning tool designed for rapid iterative development processes.

Amanda will continue to be based in Austin – where she’s worked with CapMetro and City of Austin staff as they transform the city’s bus network and prepare for light rail. Reach out to Amanda to discuss upcoming collaboration opportunities!

Meet up with the Journey team in Austin!

Lauren Mattern, Dan Berez, and Amanda Wolfe will all be in Austin next week during the APTA Mobility Conference. We’ll be co-hosting a reception on Monday, April 7 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM near the convention center. Reach out if you want to join us - or if you want to meet up for coffee during the conference.

A few interesting things. 🧠

🏘️ Housing: CommunityScale provides a great overview of tradeoffs between increased municipal costs and the revenue benefits of new development.

💳 Points and Miles: Ever wonder how airline and hotel credit cards work? Check out this article from Cranky Flyer.

🍋‍🟩 Scooters: A tour of Lime’s Austin scooter warehouse.

🚉 Trains: Transit agencies in California, Boston, and Chicago are looking to European manufacturers to provide trains powered by batteries and hydrogen fuel cells.

💰 Municipal Finances: Strong Towns released a new “Finance Decoder” that provides a simple framework for understanding municipal financial health.

A quick Journey update. 🏗️

Certification Update: Journey is now certified as a DBE in Arizona. Visit our website or check out the map below to see our full list of certifications.

📚 Join our book clubs:

• ACT Book Club: Journey founder Lauren Mattern hosts the Association for Commuter Transportation Book Club. Join us for an upcoming discussion of Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World on May 14 from 3-4 pm eastern, with a special appearance by author & journalist Henry Grabar. Sign up here and earn 1 TDM-CP credit for attending.

• Chicago City Builders Book Club: Lauren co-hosts the monthly Chicago City Builders Book Club with Marla Westervelt of CityFi the fourth Wednesday of each month at a location in The Loop. This month, they are reading There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz, a Chicago classic exploring housing policies and life in the infamous Henry Horner homes in the 80s & 90s that’ll bring tears for its close portrayal of boyhood in challenging circumstances. Lauren couldn’t put it down. Sign up here.

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