 |
 he car is a symbol of our freedom and
affluence. Go anywhere, any time albeit slowly, if your destination is
north or east county in the afternoon. Mass transit is reserved for those
who can't afford a car, or are too young or old to drive and can't afford
a driver. If you're in this category, you can just wait for a bus or, if
you're geographically lucky, a trolley. Given the alternatives, a car seems
the ultimate convenience. Until you experience something better.
 I just returned from a trip to France,
where I had just such an experience. My wife Carolyn was on a two-week performance
tour of central France with her choral ensemble, and I went along as a "groupie."
At the end of the tour we spent four days in Paris.
Based on hearing years of idle chatter
about the French, I was expecting to dislike the country in general and
Paris most specifically. I'm pleased to report that EVERYTHING I "knew"
about France and the French was dead wrong. (I wasn't treated rudely by
anyone despite the fact I didn't speak the language.) Our visit was a unique
pleasure, and I hope to return some day.
One big surprise and pleasure was
the Paris transportation systems. The city is crisscrossed and circled by
no less than 14 subway lines and some 30-odd bus routes. We used the subways
Metro extensively, and I have never had a greater feeling of transportation
freedom. Everywhere we wanted to go in the city was no more than a 5 minute
walk from a Metro stop. Trains arrived every few minutes, even in the evening
and the Metro runs until 12:45am. You can go clear across the city in about
25 minutes. Our one and only financial transaction was to buy a 5-day subway
pass. After that, it was walk in, ride and walk out.
It was wonderful: no parking, no
road rage, no traffic jams no traffic. On the subway you could read, listen
to music, sleep (if you have someone to wake you up), people-watch (my favorite)
or just veg out.
Outlying areas are served by an additional
four train lines, with branches serving a total of 20 final destinations.
During the day, trains come every half hour or so. We took a train to Versailles;
it was comfortable, very fast and very smooth. And, like the Metro, all
electric.
So, on the one hand we have our expensive,
gas-guzzling, polluting, high-maintenance, do-it-yourself cars. On the other,
smooth, fast, convenient, non-polluting, maintenance-free Metro. My final
take is that we don't have cars because we're rich, we have them because
we're too poor to afford anything better. We are truly "car poor." |
