diff --git a/src/ext/java/org/opentripplanner/ext/restapi/resources/RoutingResource.java b/src/ext/java/org/opentripplanner/ext/restapi/resources/RoutingResource.java
index 5746317039e..38e50b283dc 100644
--- a/src/ext/java/org/opentripplanner/ext/restapi/resources/RoutingResource.java
+++ b/src/ext/java/org/opentripplanner/ext/restapi/resources/RoutingResource.java
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 import org.opentripplanner.framework.application.OTPFeature;
 import org.opentripplanner.framework.lang.StringUtils;
 import org.opentripplanner.framework.time.DurationUtils;
+import org.opentripplanner.framework.time.ZoneIdFallback;
 import org.opentripplanner.routing.api.request.RouteRequest;
 import org.opentripplanner.routing.api.request.preference.ItineraryFilterDebugProfile;
 import org.opentripplanner.routing.api.request.request.filter.SelectRequest;
@@ -711,7 +712,7 @@ protected RouteRequest buildRequest(MultivaluedMap<String, String> queryParamete
 
     {
       //FIXME: move into setter method on routing request
-      ZoneId tz = serverContext.transitService().getTimeZone();
+      ZoneId tz = ZoneIdFallback.zoneId(serverContext.transitService().getTimeZone());
       if (date == null && time != null) { // Time was provided but not date
         LOG.debug("parsing ISO datetime {}", time);
         try {
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/apis/gtfs/mapping/RouteRequestMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/apis/gtfs/mapping/RouteRequestMapper.java
index 790064aba22..2eeaf229b11 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/apis/gtfs/mapping/RouteRequestMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/apis/gtfs/mapping/RouteRequestMapper.java
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 import org.opentripplanner.api.parameter.QualifiedModeSet;
 import org.opentripplanner.apis.gtfs.GraphQLRequestContext;
 import org.opentripplanner.framework.graphql.GraphQLUtils;
+import org.opentripplanner.framework.time.ZoneIdFallback;
 import org.opentripplanner.model.GenericLocation;
 import org.opentripplanner.routing.api.request.RouteRequest;
 import org.opentripplanner.routing.api.request.framework.CostLinearFunction;
@@ -55,7 +56,7 @@ public static RouteRequest toRouteRequest(
     request.setDateTime(
       environment.getArgument("date"),
       environment.getArgument("time"),
-      context.transitService().getTimeZone()
+      ZoneIdFallback.zoneId(context.transitService().getTimeZone())
     );
 
     callWith.argument("wheelchair", request::setWheelchair);
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/framework/logging/Throttle.java b/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/framework/logging/Throttle.java
index 47417aa974a..631d59a2697 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/framework/logging/Throttle.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/framework/logging/Throttle.java
@@ -35,6 +35,10 @@ public static Throttle ofOneSecond() {
     return new Throttle(1000);
   }
 
+  public static Throttle ofOneMinute() {
+    return new Throttle(1000 * 60);
+  }
+
   public String setupInfo() {
     return setupInfo;
   }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/framework/time/ZoneIdFallback.java b/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/framework/time/ZoneIdFallback.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2d43216e4b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/framework/time/ZoneIdFallback.java
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+package org.opentripplanner.framework.time;
+
+import java.time.ZoneId;
+import javax.annotation.Nullable;
+import org.opentripplanner.framework.logging.Throttle;
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
+/**
+ * This class provides a fallback mechanism for retrieving a zone id (=time zone).
+ * If a ZoneId is not provided, it returns a default fallback ZoneId (UTC).
+ * <p>
+ * This situation happens when you don't load any transit data into the graph but want to route
+ * anyway, perhaps only on the street network.
+ */
+public class ZoneIdFallback {
+
+  private static final Logger LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(ZoneIdFallback.class);
+  private static final ZoneId FALLBACK = ZoneId.of("UTC");
+  private static final Throttle THROTTLE = Throttle.ofOneMinute();
+
+  /**
+   * Accepts a nullable zone id (time zone) and returns UTC as the fallback.
+   */
+  public static ZoneId zoneId(@Nullable ZoneId id) {
+    if (id == null) {
+      THROTTLE.throttle(() -> {
+        LOG.warn(
+          "Your instance doesn't contain a time zone (which is usually derived from transit data). Assuming {}.",
+          FALLBACK
+        );
+        LOG.warn("Please double-check that transit data was correctly loaded.");
+      });
+      return FALLBACK;
+    } else {
+      return id;
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/routing/algorithm/mapping/GraphPathToItineraryMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/routing/algorithm/mapping/GraphPathToItineraryMapper.java
index 9858ccfee50..11302098f25 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/routing/algorithm/mapping/GraphPathToItineraryMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/routing/algorithm/mapping/GraphPathToItineraryMapper.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 import org.opentripplanner.framework.application.OTPFeature;
 import org.opentripplanner.framework.geometry.GeometryUtils;
 import org.opentripplanner.framework.i18n.I18NString;
+import org.opentripplanner.framework.time.ZoneIdFallback;
 import org.opentripplanner.model.plan.ElevationProfile;
 import org.opentripplanner.model.plan.Itinerary;
 import org.opentripplanner.model.plan.Leg;
@@ -58,7 +59,7 @@ public GraphPathToItineraryMapper(
     StreetNotesService streetNotesService,
     double ellipsoidToGeoidDifference
   ) {
-    this.timeZone = timeZone;
+    this.timeZone = ZoneIdFallback.zoneId(timeZone);
     this.streetNotesService = streetNotesService;
     this.ellipsoidToGeoidDifference = ellipsoidToGeoidDifference;
   }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/routing/service/DefaultRoutingService.java b/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/routing/service/DefaultRoutingService.java
index 9879b52c9c1..01736aac80e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/routing/service/DefaultRoutingService.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/opentripplanner/routing/service/DefaultRoutingService.java
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 import java.time.ZoneId;
 import org.opentripplanner.framework.application.OTPRequestTimeoutException;
+import org.opentripplanner.framework.time.ZoneIdFallback;
 import org.opentripplanner.framework.tostring.MultiLineToStringBuilder;
 import org.opentripplanner.model.plan.Itinerary;
 import org.opentripplanner.routing.algorithm.RoutingWorker;
@@ -30,7 +31,7 @@ public class DefaultRoutingService implements RoutingService {
 
   public DefaultRoutingService(OtpServerRequestContext serverContext) {
     this.serverContext = serverContext;
-    this.timeZone = serverContext.transitService().getTimeZone();
+    this.timeZone = ZoneIdFallback.zoneId(serverContext.transitService().getTimeZone());
   }
 
   @Override
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/opentripplanner/framework/FrameworkArchitectureTest.java b/src/test/java/org/opentripplanner/framework/FrameworkArchitectureTest.java
index e1e00076a73..9e44dd05dda 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/opentripplanner/framework/FrameworkArchitectureTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/opentripplanner/framework/FrameworkArchitectureTest.java
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ void enforceTextPackageDependencies() {
 
   @Test
   void enforceTimePackageDependencies() {
-    TIME.verify();
+    TIME.dependsOn(LOGGING).verify();
   }
 
   @Test
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/opentripplanner/framework/time/ZoneIdFallbackTest.java b/src/test/java/org/opentripplanner/framework/time/ZoneIdFallbackTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b69e3ee2ff1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/org/opentripplanner/framework/time/ZoneIdFallbackTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+package org.opentripplanner.framework.time;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.opentripplanner._support.time.ZoneIds;
+
+class ZoneIdFallbackTest {
+
+  @Test
+  void fallback() {
+    assertEquals(ZoneIds.UTC, ZoneIdFallback.zoneId(null));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void keepOriginal() {
+    assertEquals(ZoneIds.BERLIN, ZoneIdFallback.zoneId(ZoneIds.BERLIN));
+  }
+}