Enjoying the Ride- Jill Johnson

When it comes to transportation, cities do it better. Buses, trains, subways, all move massive amounts of people every day far more efficiently than individual cars ever could. Take Atlanta’s interstate 85, notorious for backups and traffic jams miles long. Living in the US I was used to this sort of thing. Not having a car seemed preposterous after growing up in a region completely void of public transportation (google small town Alabama). Upon arriving in Brussels and receiving my public transport card, I found the idea of taking a bus ever so slightly revolting.

Before actually having the experience, the idea of a public bus conjured images of pickpockets and body odor. However, it took only a few days of using the public transport system in Brussels to change my mind. The buses were clean, quick, and most importantly all electric. The trains too I found to be much easier than fighting traffic. Still, there was a learning curve to it all.

Take the route system. There were more than a few times we caught the bus only to find out a few stops later we had gone in the wrong direction. Or worse, we had gotten on the wrong train, at the right stop. Stop names and train lines were in either French, or Dutch- no English- and the announcers voice gave us no clues as to where we were. Elementary French was no help here! Yet, after a week or so those woes melted into memories and the lines and stops soon became familiar and routine.

With the knowledge of the transport system came a feeling of almost knowing the city. I felt as if I had mastered some small faction of urban life. There was a great sense of independence and satisfaction that came with knowing how to navigate. It certainly helped me to learn about my surroundings. Helping strangers asking for directions became a point of personal pride, it was as if I actually belonged in this oh so very foreign place.

In comparison to the US, Europe has a much more extensive public transportation system. Train lines steak across borders and weave into almost every major cityscape on the continent. The US though sees only a smattering of lines running from a few sparse cities. Major metropolitan areas often have working subways. Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, but you would have to look hard to find a train to take you from Alabama to, well, anywhere. Public transport is just simply not as common. Individual travel has always seemed to be the norm in my America.

After now experiencing both, I have come to the easy conclusion that I far prefer the Brussels way of getting around. With a simple swipe of my card I was on my way just as quickly as a car; I worried less about the environmental damage I was causing; and as someone who never liked driving much anyway I felt more at ease knowing I could sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.