Transit in Europe gets more grandísimo

The most cooperative triumverate in the history of countries, the Netherlands and Belgium and Luxembourg are not just models of unity… trade blocs… great tulip gardens… waffles… or flamboyant investment banker neckties. Their cities are quickly becoming car-free utopias.

Now our Benelux friends have a new friend. Spain!

Joining the legions of Transit’s 200+ supported cities, we’re welcoming every city in:

• Belgium
• the Netherlands
• Luxembourg

And some lucky locales in Spain, as well.

Whether you make your living amid the paella stalls of Valencia, the black beaches of Tenerife, the opulent plazas of Madrid, or the gaudy steeples of Barcelona…. you’ll now be able to enjoy all the fruits of Transit.

If you’ve used our app, you know what that means: all the bus, train, tram, and metro times 🍎, no taps required. More reliable trip planning 🥭, including bike/scooter/ridehail connections to transit. Disruption info 🍇. Step-by-step directions 🍒. More.

Transit is arriving just in time, supplying firepower to these countries as they double down in the war on cars. (Yes, it’s no longer just the Dutch and their vintage Gazelles taking a stand for safe streets! 🚲)

These countries are outsmarting Europe’s institutional car addiction, with a multi-pronged bombardment:

🇱🇺 Luxembourg made public transit entirely free.

🇧🇪 Belgium formally declared war on the 450,000 “company cars” circling its streets — with financial incentives to lure citizens out of their cars, replacing car commutes with a combination of bikes, carshare, and public transit.

🇳🇱 The Dutch are teasing motorists away from their Volkswagens. Not just with their predictably fabulous cycling infra. But other more prosaic improvements, like making it easy to use a single fare card for public transit in any city. Or promoting 🚊-to-🚲 combos with a new national “integrated mobility” API. (Is a car the dumbest, slowest, most expensive option for a trip? The Dutch make it easy to find out.)

🇪🇸 In Spain, cars are being systematically banned from travelling through neighbourhoods for non-essential reasons. Other cities, like Madrid, are launching ambitious experiments with cycling and pedestrian infrastructure. It’s exciting times in España.