When I lived the in the States, I drove a GMC Yukon, a large sports utility vehicle (SUV). While I loved my truck and wouldn’t dream of driving a smaller vehicle, I really like the fact I don’t have to drive anymore. I can get just about anywhere I would like by train, bus or metro. This applies to Europe, not just Rome. Living in Rome, the capital city of Italy, we also thankfully have access to fairly cheap flights and trains to take us anywhere in Europe.
You can’t always depend on public transportation (this is where the hate part of the relationship comes into play). Sometimes trains run late or bus waiting times seem a little too long when you’re in a hurry to get somewhere. Depending on the time of the day, transportation may be crowded and you may not always find a seat. It also really stinks to wait under an umbrella for a bus when it’s raining. Then there are the dreaded transportation strikes where the unions feel like they have to ‘punish’ the ‘regular people’ in order to get the attention of the ‘big dogs’, but we won’t bother to go into detail on that.
On the other hand, however, public transportation is a much cheaper option. As you can imagine, my large sports utility vehicle (SUV) used its fair share (if not more) of gasoline. And as we all know, gas is not cheap these days. When I owned my truck, I had to pay a good deal of money each month in order to be able to use it … monthly note, insurance, gas, maintenance, repairs (when they unfortunately happened).
Here in Rome, I pay a monthly fee of €63 for a ticket (this is less than what I payed just for gas each month). The monthly ticket allows me unlimited use of buses, trams, trains and the metro … access to all of them inside the city and any direction outside the city up to 60km. Not bad! I now do not have to pay a car note, insurance, gas, maintenance or repairs. I also don’t have to search for a parking place each day, or navigate my way through traffic (the worst).
While some days I would still like to just jump in my truck and go, I really prefer using public transportation. I definitely prefer the difference in costs!
This is so true! I love the public transportation system in Italy (when it works). It is so nice to be able to travel so quickly. I just sold my car in Atlanta and it was a great feeling! Like you mentioned, no more gasoline, insurance or maintenance. Hallelujah!
This is a really great article. The only sort of public transportation I have ridden since we moved is the People Mover which is located in downtown Detroit.