Public Transport - Filled With Germs, But Convenient

Public transportation can be found in almost every city (of over 150,000 people) across the world. Whether it's the Parisian Métro, or San Francisco's ferry system, every one does the same exact thing: get people from place to place.

After the invention of the car, inner city populations began to fall as many people fled to the suburbs for safer and more relaxed living. Cars made it easier for people to live in a less urban setting and easily commute to the job-rich inner city (refer back to exurbs, suburbs, and urban areas post).

However, people forgot about the threat of heavy traffic. Did you know that a 60-mile trip from Los Angeles to San Diego takes about three hours during rush hour? This is why cities have established public transportation systems, such as subways, buses, and ferries, to get people moving from place to place without the worry of traffic.

I made the example of Los Angeles, but the city only has a bus system and a small part of the nation's train system, Amtrak. Paris, France, on the other hand, is rich in public transport - having an extremely efficient subway system, buses, and taxis. New York also has a great system, despite the lack of cleanliness on the subways and ferries. Seattle, Washington has a ferry system that takes passengers all around the Pudget Sound. The King County Metro system of buses also helps people from the eastern suburbs of Seattle commute into the city.

Public transportation really depends on the city you're in and the size of highways and streets there are. Some cities have great highway and street systems that enable cars to travel quickly around the city (without ever having to go into the city itself). If you look at a map of Indianapolis, for example, there's a large ring around the city with several interstate highways traveling towards the center from the ring. It relieves traffic, and aids passers-by by dodging the traffic-heavy inner city.

The video posted is Paris' Métro system. The system itself is filled with stops (two of them at the Louvre - it's a HUGE museum). The trains also travel very fast, which is nice if you're in a hurry.