I'm now in #Helsinki looking into how the investment in mobility as a service (MaaS for short) has paid off. Also, looking at their street designs, as I do when traveling. I've got lots of mtgs lined up, & I'll be adding more over the next few days, similar to my thread on Oslo. 
Before I left for my trip, I downloaded @WhimappFI. My first experiment was getting from Central Station to my hotel via the 4 tram. I *think* it worked? Every city's transit is different & there seems to be no need to show proof of payment here. Also, I'm not sure how I would've
Something incredibly striking here is just how much texture there is to the streets and sidewalks. It gives a sense of place and history and also calms traffic.
Here is a bicycle and walking path separated from one another in the historic Park Esplanadi. We should be doing this in Pittsburgh. For example alongside North Ave in the Commons in the Northside. @PLANPGH @PghDOMI @pittsburghparks
Here's a beautiful biking and walking path on an old rail corridor. Unlike our trails this one was planned for transportation not recreation. bicyclists are separated from walkers, there are lights, and access points every few blocks. We need to upgrade our trails in Pittsburgh.
Although the tracks make riding a bike a bit more challenging, after visiting Amsterdam, Oslo, and Helsinki where trams feature heavily in the modal mix, I'm convinced that getting rid of the trolleys in Pittsburgh was a terrible decision.
For 10yrs Helsinki devoted €2M/yr to bicycling. In 2010 it went to €3M and incrementally up to €5M/yr where it hovered until more progressive ppl we're elected. As a result that number doubled to €10M in 2016 & will be *€20M!* (13% of transport budget) In 2020 @pyoraliitto
Met with a co-founder of @WhimappFI today. #MaaS is a powerful concept and has real potential to shift trips away from personal car use. At its heart MaaS is about behavior change. But MaaS's backbone is dependable, frequent, easy to use public transit.
Finland's Ministry of Transport & Comms illuminated me on Finland's passage of their Act on Transport Services last year—the 1st in the world that mandates transportation services from transit to ride hailing to bike share+ to open their data to the public lvm.fi/en/-/act-on-tr…
Finland frames the their national transportation policy around climate change and Finnish+EU CO2 reduction goals.
Helsinki trams display the weather and air quality and also some of the dopest seat fabric designs I've ever seen @PGHtransit
Here's a countdown display at a tram stop to tell transit customers when to expect the next tram @ms_eagan @PGHtransit @PghDOMI
Helsinki is investing a considerable amount of € changing their older "Berlin style" of bikeways into that which resembles those of Copenhagen in order to improve legibility, safety, and encourage more people to ride. @pyoraliitto
Helsinki is also trying new things in terms of winter bikeway maintenance. Contractors clear their trails and bike lanes in priority bike corridors. Equivalent in Pittsburgh would-be our trails, protected bike lanes and standard bike lanes @PGHDPW @PghDOMI hel.fi/helsinki/fi/ka…
Finishing up my time in Finland. Used @WhimappFI to buy my train ticket to @HelsinkiAirport. Going through security, the family gate was striking. Not sure exactly what it consists of, but seems like maybe a more patient and friendly experience for kids.
@threadreaderapp please unroll
