Erik Jensen

Nothing like a 40 minute wait for a gate at O’Hare to really remind you that you’ve arrived home!

Stations of Zhengzhou Metro Line 7 and 8 Phase I which opened in late 2024. The Phase I both lines, totaling 77.5km of route length, averaged 160 million INT$/km to construct.

Slowest buses in the country is definitely not an exaggeration, though east coast cities generally have trouble with buses on narrow streets compared to Chicago even when there isn’t much traffic

I had to recalibrate speed expectations a fair bit when I moved

A modern subway train is stationed at a platform inside a well-lit underground station. The train has a white and blue exterior, with "Norsborg" displayed on the front. There are people waiting near the platform, and the surrounding walls feature drawings carved into them

A blue articulated bus is parked on a street, with a rocky hillside and greenery in the background. Nearby, a building with a red brick facade is visible, along with an advertisement poster. Cyclists ride on the road beside the bus.

A blue tram is stopped at a station with a service worker in a reflective jacket walking away. People are waiting at the platform, and trees are visible in the background.

A passenger ferry named "Djurgården 9" is docked at a pier, with people boarding and disembarking. The sky is partly cloudy, and there are buildings in the background. A Swedish flag is visible on the ferry.

Today I got to ride a public ferry, tram, bus, and finally a metro train all in one day as part of sightseeing in Stockholm

It was a good day

I took the 5C to my Nephew’s wedding and it was nice! Until we got stuck in traffic at least

Maybe it’s where my family is but I always think of the S-Tog as the most important after cycling, but I’ve never actually lived in Copenhagen

One thing I have trouble wrapping my head around is that the Copenhagen Metro does all this with just 700 employees.

They quad-train Stewards to do proof of payment ticketing, customer service, evacuation/moving trains during emergency response, and basic first aid.

4/4

An escalator leads down to a modern subway station, featuring digital screens displaying train information. The station signs indicate routes to Nørrebro. Promotional banners line the walls, featuring athletic imagery with the slogan "FEAR NOTHING." The overall design is sleek

A crowded subway station showing people waiting and boarding trains. Signs indicate the direction to "Vanløse," and the platform has a modern design with escalators and clear signage.

A modern subway station interior with directional signage for train lines (M1, M2) and an information display. An exit sign points to "Strøget." Passengers with luggage and casual attire are visible, along with a map of the transit system

A bustling underground corridor filled with pedestrians. People of various ages are walking in both directions, with some carrying bags. The environment is well-lit, featuring a modern design with signs on the walls.

The stations are pretty standardized across the system. Wayfinding is generally good except at a couple stations like Kongens Nytorv where the print on glass is super hard to see

/3

A modern train is at a station, visible through glass barriers. People are seen boarding and waiting, with a clock and overhead infrastructure in the background. The environment appears urban and well-maintained.

Interior of a modern train, featuring yellow handrails and overhead lights. A man in a reflective vest sits on a bench using his phone. Passengers are visible in the background, and large windows show a construction site outside.

A view of the interior of a train, showing passengers seated and standing. The foreground features a child eating, while a man rests with his head down. The train windows reveal tracks and greenery outside. Yellow handrails line the ceiling, and overhead lights

A view inside a subway car featuring two seated passengers. One woman is looking at her phone, while another sits across, holding her phone as well. The doors of the subway can be seen in the background, with yellow handrails and various informational signs

The trains are short at just 130 ft (39 m), so they really rely on low headways to make it work. They’re decently wide (2.65 m/8.7 ft) and have minimal seating, so they can still hold ~280-300 people (compared to 2400 on a 10-car B-Division train in NYC)

/2

A modern subway station interior with sleek metallic walls and bright lighting. Two people are seen walking towards a digital information board displaying train schedules, including directions to Østerport. The area features glass barriers and promotional posters along the walls.

A modern subway entrance with glass construction and a large red "M" symbol is shown. Two people are walking down the stairs, and a brick tower can be seen in the background. The setting has greenery and a cloudy blue sky.

View from the front of a train, showing railway tracks extending into the distance with greenery on either side. A handrail is visible on the left side of the image, and the sky is partly cloudy.

Interior of a subway train showing multiple passengers. The scene includes two women sitting on benches, one focused on her phone, and a man sitting nearby. The train has yellow handrails, and a display indicates the route to "Lufthaven."

The Copenhagen Metro is so much fun every time I visit. A cute automated train on its surface that smoothly carries over 360,000 people per day with 24/7 service and which seems to expand every time I visit.

Let’s talk about it

/1

The image shows a mobile app interface for "rejsekort," displaying a user profile with the name "Erik." It includes options for ticket type, a depiction of a smartphone, and various icons representing buildings and a person.

Copenhagen has a zone based system where the fare is based on the number of zones you travel regardless of mode.

But it makes the payment app super easy to use as a visitor

The 2018 Pride Train with a wavy pattern of the classic six pride colors and the words "Ride with pride!" below the window line as people exit the train at the Wilson station. Bonus detail: my partner and family are in the foreground since we were taking the Red Line together!

The 2022 pride train stopped at Howard at the end of a northbound trip, which had bold stripes of both the classic pride flag, plus Black and brown in front and then the full set of trans flag stripes at the other end of the car to represent broader aspects of the community as designs progressed.

The 2024 Pride Train had a wavy, almost 60s- or 70s-like pattern of stripes that swooped up at one end and down at the other, creating bold horizontal stripes across the car body and inverted rainbow shapes at each end. The design was conscious to put Black and brown and trans colors at the cab ends of each reversible train, so no matter which way the cars were facing, those colors would be seen first as the train comes into view or enters a station.

A picture of the 2025 CTA Pride Train with bold, wavy stripes of color, again aligned to put the Black and brown stripes and trans stripes at the front end of each train by ensuring they appear at the cab ends of each car and thus are forward no matter which way the train is rolling along the tracks, with the classic pride colors right in step behind them.

Been meaning to write about this...

I’ve had the privilege to be allowed by my employer to be behind and see to fruition our Pride Train. Every year it’s meant to be a showing of welcoming and inclusion, though started as just a train wrap and mean to run from June 1 thru at least Market Days.

Not close to too much else, but the high bridge view is pretty impressive and you can finish your day after in Wash Heights

One can pay for a wrap, but Advertising for both “Political” and “Public Issues” is prohibited www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/6/0...

Jarrett’s thread here is great, the only thing I’d add is that even if the bus can get close to the store, land use like this makes things worse for riders who aren’t going to Walmart too

No matter how frequent your service, 5+ minutes on a scenic tour in a big box parking lot ruins trip times

✅ HUGE WIN: Today, Chicago City Council voted unanimously via voice vote to eliminate parking minimums adjacent to CTA and Metra rail and bus lines!

This is a victory for more affordable transit oriented development and safer streets citywide!

A live music performance at an outdoor venue called The Salt Shed. The stage features musicians with instruments, colorful stage lights, and a crowd of fans. Large screens display close-ups of the performers. The setting is during twilight.

And yes, we did in fact have a lovely train ride home after too

A live music performance at an outdoor venue called The Salt Shed. The stage features musicians with instruments, colorful stage lights, and a crowd of fans. Large screens display close-ups of the performers. The setting is during twilight.

Alabama Shakes was so good

That moment when you say goodnight to friends after dinner and the train arrives just as you walk onto the platform to take you home is so precious

Just one of the magical little things that happens living in a city

Window Heat Pumps Could Change the Game A new report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy has some exciting data for anyone attempting to retrofit a multifamily building.

NYC experimented with new window heat pump models in some public housing units. in winter, "The window unit-heated apartments used a whopping 87% less energy than the rest of the building’s steam-heated apartments did, cutting energy costs per household in half."

heatmap.news/sustainabili...

An indoor restaurant scene featuring a robotic server next to the counter. The counter displays menus and electronic devices, with a decorative tiled floor at BellyBowl Kitchen and Boba Bar in South Loop

A bowl filled with fried chicken pieces coated in a red sauce, served on a bed of shredded carrots. A clear lid is partly covering the bowl, and a disposable utensil is nearby on a dark, marble surface.

Decided to try out a new spot for lunch and had the amusing experience of being served by a cute robot in an almost entirely empty fast casual joint

The guy behind the counter actually purposefully steps into the kitchen each time food is ready so the robot can deliver

Food is great either way

Gotta ask, What’s your preferred route?

All the huge roads on the other side of the river do not make it feel like the most bikeable destination

For other folks who want to do this but aren’t transit data whizzes (or who are too busy), there’s also this site too: app.traveltime.com

It’s what I used when we moved to Chicago

Le nouveau Paris de 2025: des nageurs dans la Seine, et des enfants à vélo sur berges. Qu’en restera-t-il en 2026 ? Les paris sont ouverts ;)

More than open loop though, planning for it to be account based instead of token based also makes it more complicated to keep an old stored value system running on top of the open loop system

So much of the design was focused on passenger throughput, which means that almost no work happens in real-time, basically the only thing the reader can do in real-time is check if the card is in the block list. The fares get figured out by the server later

Group of 20 elementary schoolers bike in the Blaisdell 2 way curb protected bikelane. They wear high viz vests.

If your bikelanes don’t have groups of elementary aged kids going on bike field trips with their class, your infrastructure isn’t safe enough for all ages & abilities (& should be fixed!).

🚲 ❤️

It’s a huge difference! New speeds should come out to ~6 minutes in savings in theory once things get built into the schedule (maybe a bit less). Still a long trip

Silver Line Phase 2 was also only built to 65 instead of 75 sadly

Yep! There’s several spots in the summer. Prices are rough for Chicago (~$11-12 for a 16 oz beer with tax and tip), but you’re really just paying for location

A beer and an ereader sit on a wooden table overlooking a lake. There are large tour boats in the water with tall skyscrapers in the background

Anyways, keep the thoughts on fare free transit coming!

In the meantime I’ll be enjoying the riverwalk with a book and a beer

Might just be me, but one of the challenges of being in the public sector is that every now and then when the Discourse™️ is something super wonky that you know a lot about, you still have to relegate your thoughts to happy hour with friends