 What makes the perfect symphony? It needs a melody, a strong voice in the dark, supporting lines that give life to the music, a tempo, the heartbeat of the ensemble. But most of all, it needs harmony, so perfect you don't even notice the individual pieces. That's what integrated transport is. A symphony of movement, each mode playing its part in a larger network. And one city has mastered it. This is the beautiful city of Vienna, Austria. It is the second largest German speaking city after Berlin, and it is located on the shores of the Danube River. Also known as the city of music, in part because both Beethoven and Mozart have lived here for quite some time. The quality of public space here is exceptional, and it also has a very high quality of life. It is easy to see why this city is ranked consistently amongst the most livable cities in the world. Today we're going to walk, bike, take public transit, and use bike share around this great city. And then we are going to give this city a mobility score. Here in the main plaza in front of Vienna train station, we have the railways going up on top with also office building development that is completely connected to the train station itself. It's an example of well-designed transit oriented development. Together with the office building, the train tracks, you also have the bus service and also different bike share and scooter share mobility options. There's a lot of context about where you're going. The branding is also spot on and you'll see these boards all over the city center and beyond. This is a bike rack design that I've never seen before. It's got the normal U-shaped tubular thing, but it also has this yellow strut that comes out that you can lock your bike to. I think it's a pretty interesting design and as far as I can tell, a pretty good design too. This bike station does more than just bike. You can also get repair services, you can rent bikes and you can even purchase your brand new e-bike all from right outside the train station. So really, it's an all in one store where you can go for all your cycling needs. The Vienna train station was built in 2015 and to this very day, it still looks brand new. Behind me here, you can see the ticketing office where you can get tickets to anywhere in Austria, Germany and beyond. It's very clear to the customer that there are lots of service agents to help you out to get you to your destination. Vienna's tram network is the fifth largest in the world. It is a primary method of transportation in this city and it all started back in 1865 with the horse and carriage and the first tracks. Check out how well integrated Vienna's public transport network is. On this one Mac, you can see the U-Bahn, the S-Bahn and the regional express in one place. The U-Bahn serves shorter trips, and then the regional express goes even further out into the excerpts. The network extends up to 50 kilometers outside from the city center and from one ticket, you can use the S-Bahn, the U-Bahn, the tram and the bus network all within the zone system. This means you can freely transfer between one mode to the other based on what is the quickest or the simplest way to get to your destination. This is one of the brand new trains in the S-Bahn network is an express rail system that takes you into the suburbs. The seating layout here I find it quite wonderful. These tables fold out so you can have a nice time with your friends, you can have a meal or just do some work on your laptop. Folding seats allow you to take bikes on the train or use it as a space for carriages or wheelchairs. As soon as you board any train you will usually see a wayfinding screen. This will tell you the upcoming stops and also if there's any delays on the line. This S-Bahn train uses a clock face to tell you when the train is going to depart. So here it's going to depart in seven minutes. We don't have a ticket. We've got to get out of here. A single ticket is two euros forty for one ride in the system. But if you're a resident of Vienna you can get a yearly ticket for as little as one euro a day. One of the things that makes this whole metro system great is that there's no turnstiles but you have to validate your ticket before you go through the gates. To validate your single day ticket you put in this machine and it stamps it. Haha. As a bonus check out Tapa Kappa's video on how a lack of turnstiles helps Vienna better integrate its transport network. Here's a fun transit nerd fact for you. There is no mezzanine level on the U-Bahn. This U1 line the only way to get from one platform to the other is across a surface level sidewalk. Therefore the cross-rock across this major street is actually a critical connection for the U-Bahn system itself. Without a mezzanine level that shallow depth means you can do a very quick cut and cover method of building allowing for a very fast expansion of Vienna's U-Bahn network. As a side effect you also have better accessibility because the elevators don't have to go as deep and if you're pedestrian it means less stairs for you to walk up and down. RM Transit has a fantastic video about what makes Vienna's U-Bahn network so extraordinary. This crosswalk and its color may not be in traffic manuals but it's a great way to liven up the city with the rainbow. This neighborhood street terminates at the U-Bahn station here but the bike lane and the pedestrian facilities continue all the way across the main street. This creates a system of filtered permeability and creates a fine mesh network for pedestrians while cutting down on car traffic that goes through this residential neighborhood. This bus stop is a simple way to give visual identity to the city. It's very unique and has become one of the symbols of Vienna as a city. It's nice and peaceful down here by this bike path but we're under a major highway that goes across the Danube River. By bringing the bike path one level below the highway deck we gain all the benefits of noise abatement while also gaining the benefits of grade separation. So no traffic, less noise makes for a peaceful bike ride. This video is brought to you by Urban Mobility Explained. And if you love learning about Urban Mobility check out their new courses completely free at urbanmobilitycourses.eu link in the description below. Just like gasoline for cars water is critical for active mobility because humans are moving, we need to eat, we also need to stay hydrated on hot days. Public fountains like these ones are scattered throughout Vienna and especially around train station. It makes it easy to fill your own bottle and reduces the need for plastic water bottles to be sold at the station. We're here at the bottom of the giant Viennese ferris wheel and from this ferris wheel you can see the urban green space that is quite abundant in this city. This green park for example extends all the way to the southern edge of the city and gives a great place for urban residents to go for a long hike and accessible green space is a theme of this city because from the train station behind me you can get to this park very easily from anywhere by using the underground or the Espan system. This is one of 200 removal rad stations around the city of Vienna. In total there are over 3,000 bikes in the bike share network. This is great for getting around and you can get a daily or an annual or weekly pass but one of the downsides is you can't really rent e-bikes in this system yet. You can rent one of these bikes through the next bike app and you can have up to four bikes on the same account. It's important that you can rent bikes for your friends and family because then you can replace an Uber ride and have a more social experience of cycling around the city. There's a very comfortable bike path that's about five meters wide here. This style of bike path surrounds the entire city center in a ring and it's great for commuters who want to bypass the city. The Berg Ring also connects with the canal Promenade creating a very nice recreational green network as well. It's full of green boulevards and also a riverfront view. Let's look at a vestige of Vienna's car-centric past. The Hofburg behind me is the entrance to the city center of Vienna is a beautiful building complex surrounded by some green space a lot of people walking, some horse and buggy tours but that magnificent statue over there is surrounded by a sea of parking. Such great potential for public space but wasted by surface parking. Look at this tree canopy! I'm standing in the middle of the street there's very little traffic and because the street is so narrow we can reach the leaves all the way across creating a cooling effect which has been very helpful over the last few days. It's been over 30 degrees Celsius every single day. We often think of public space as a place to meet, to get exercise to socialize but we don't really think of it as a place to relax. This hammock is a great example of providing people a place where they can take a nap and enjoy the surroundings of this beautiful park. I think it's great and I encourage you to think about what kind of society do we have to live in for this to be normal. And that concludes our tour of Vienna, Austria and now it is time to give the city a human mobility score. For transit there's excellent connection between buses, tram, Espan, U-Bahn and intercity rail. The frequency of all these networks makes transit a breeze to use in this city. I found the wayfinding experience very pleasant and I loved how the transit all mesh together. Plus, if you're a resident you get to use this system for under one euro a day. I give the city a 5 out of 5 for transit. Cycling is a bit of a hit and miss in this city. There's no doubt a beautiful recreational network but using it for commuting could be a bit of a challenge. Material cycling routes have excellent traffic separation but my issue is with all the angled parking that puts you in the blind spot of all the drivers. Bike parking around the main train station is well thought out but lacking in capacity. I love the idea of having a bike shop connected to the train station but it could use a bigger facility. I give cycling a 3 out of 5. Walking around the city was an excellent experience especially in the pedestrianized city center. There's a good sense of enclosure in the city due to the mid-rise development there's a couple of very large green parks around the city so if you want to get in touch with nature and go for your long hikes or walks you can also do that within a train ride away. I give walking in the city a 5 out of 5. For bike share and micromobility I found the next bike app very easy to use and I was able to use my account created in another city. The one downside of the next bike is that they don't have e-bikes yet in their network. I hope to see that soon. Otherwise, electric scooters are a fast way to get around the city but they are a bit expensive and they are not as extensive as a city like Munich. I give bike share and micromobility a 3 out of 5. And that gives the city of Vienna, Austria a human mobility score of 16 out of 20. I really wish I had more time to explore this beautiful city but for now onwards to the next city.