Avoiding Motor Mayhem: European Public Transportation

“Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” is more than just a movie title in Europe. Rather, public transportation is a way of life for the millions of hustling citizens.  While in France and England I frequently found myself wondering why so many Americans take on the cost of a personal automobile rather than use reliable public transportation like the Europeans.  On our twelve-day trip we spent plentiful hours bustling through some of the world’s most famous metropolises. Many of these hours were spent on underground train systems. In London we rode the Tube, and in Paris the subway was called the Metro. Both the Tube and the Metro are complex rail systems that stretch underneath the entire length of the massive cities and even sprawl out into the suburbs. I’ve never in my life seen public transportation like we experienced in Europe simply because the United States severely lacks in the category of public transit. Since our trip I have spent a large amount of time considering the numerous pros and cons of public transportation.

Quite obviously, building complex underground subways is not easy or inexpensive which could be one of the many reasons the U.S. never instituted a comprehensive system of public transportation. It is also not as practical in the U.S. as Europe because of our nation’s geography. Our cities and states are more spread out than on the European continent and this makes traveling more of an extensive activity. America houses far less people per square mile of land than in Europe where heavily populated cities such as Paris and London are common. Additionally, I foresee coordinating laws between states to create transportation would be a nightmare. What if Texas has the money to build railways but New Mexico does not? The situation would turn out much like the bridge to Canada controversy. A cultural difference that discourages public transit is that the average American is too independent and impatient to not own a personal car. Americans value the ability to get up and go where ever and when ever they would like and mass transit simply doesn’t boast the convenience of a car. Lastly, the most logical reason that America doesn’t have abundant public transportation is the classic economic driving force of jobs. Good ole’ Michigan and its auto industry would crumble if people abandoned their cars in exchange for weekly subway tickets. Although employing people to build a system of transportation would create many jobs, they would not be sustainable jobs because as soon as the project was complete the employees would be back out of work. The American auto industry has seen better days of course, but it is still a thriving industry that provides jobs and fiscal benefits to the country.

On the contrary, there are a myriad of benefits to public transportation. I would not argue against a chance of public transportation in America’s future. Firstly, protecting the environment is very important to modern society and subways are far more eco-friendly than thousands of people driving their own car to work every day. With public transportation there are also less car-related fatalities because plainly there are less automobiles on the road. Further, cars are only becoming less safe with the presence of technological distractors. Cell phones, texting, and iPods are a few of the items that lead to unnecessary automobile accidents every day. Drunk driving statistics would decrease because rather than trying to drive home from the bar, someone could easily take the bus. Another advantage is that you can be more efficient with your time while using public transportation. Rather than driving 40 minutes to work, I often saw people checking their emails, reading the newspaper, or writing on the subway. Most importantly, reliable transportation eliminates the need to own an automobile and reduces the monetary burden of a vehicle. A car comes with many financial obligations including the initial down payment, loan payments, car insurance, gas, oil changes, and repairs that add up to a massive financial cost.

While public transportation is convenient and cost effective, it is not free. There are large costs associated with many forms of transit such as subway, train, and bus operations. Subways can often be crowded, busy, stressful, and dirty. There is also a lack of privacy and the opportunity for dangerous situations to arise. Historically terrorists have utilized forms of public transit to carry out attacks. In response, I learned that London subway stations do not have garbage cans in fear that they can be used to hide a bomb. Even with these flaws, public transportation has proven to be extremely effective in cities around the world. Only time will tell if America joins the rest of the world with sophisticated mass transit.