```python
def route_stops(route: str) -> list:
    """Break a route written as stop names joined by greater-than signs into the stops themselves."""
    return [stop.strip() for stop in route.split('>')]

def route_hops(route: str) -> int:
    """Count the journeys between stops, one fewer than the stops, and none at all for a blank route."""
    if not route:
        return 0
    return len(route_stops(route)) - 1
```