We have had the unique opportunity to be in the Netherlands for the hottest days ever recorded here. This meant that our bike tour very quickly became a swimming hole tour. When we got into the city, we got milkshakes and one of the folks working recommended a swimming spot a little bit north of our hostel. In order to get there, we biked onto and off of a ferry that was completely free! It was very cool to take such a seamless multimodal trip. There was a timer to show how long it would be until the next ferry and it came every few minutes. Because it was free, there wasn’t a barrier to entry in regards to trying to find a ticket machine or having the right change. It was just straight forward and simple. I find it really interesting to use public transportation in new cities because you get a good understanding of the barrier to entry that transit often struggles with. There are questions that we often don’t think about if we are familiar with the system. How much is the fare? Where do I pay? Do I need exact change? Where do I wait? Do I need an app to pay? Where do I transfer? Is this the right transit route? Is this line going the right direction? When designing a transit network, it is very important to consider the barrier to entry, because if the system is to hard figure out, people will use other modes.
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