Public Transportation

I've blogged about public transportation in Paris a few times. Many of the posts have been about strikes. I rely on public transportation to get around town. Walking is possible to a certain extent due to distances and I'm afraid to ride a bicycle on the city streets.

Most of the time, I get from point A to point B on time and with no problems. I almost take it for granted.

Yesterday, a bright, warm sunny day, I jumped on the 82 bus to go to Ecole Militaire to meet a friend. The bus was stopped. I was just swiping my Navigo card when a big bang along with a sudden jolt almost knocked me down. The driver said something to me, pointing at his dashboard, but I couldn't understand what he said. I assumed he was telling me that it wasn't him. So, I sat down.

Several seconds later, he made an announcement that everyone must get off the bus. Complaining and mumbling, this is not a rare occurrence on the bus, but still we are not happy. What's happening?

We all got off and then realized that a car had rear-ended the bus. There were three police cars already on the scene and the back of the bus had enough damage to send it out of service.

The bus pulled away, the police took the car and the driver around the corner so that the traffic jam (honking, waving, screaming) could disperse.

We all stood on the sidewalk, waiting for the next bus to arrive. No one checked to see if anyone was injured, no one took down names, we were just left at the scene to fend for ourselves.

If I had rear-ended a bus full of people in the US, I would have faced litigation until the end of my life. Every person on the bus would claim some injury. In France, no one even checked. I guess since everyone has medical care in France, if they are injured they can go to the doctor and get it taken care of, it's no one's fault and the system will take care of it. It's the same if you slip on something in the grocery store I think. And, they leave plenty of slippery things, boxes and other obstacles on the floor most of the time.