One of my biggest fears before coming to Paris was learning how to use the metro system. In the past when I went on trips with my family or friends I usually had them figure out the logistics of where we were going because I have no sense of direction (just ask Kerry). To my surprise, I’ve been able to maneuver the Parisian metro system fairly well. There are signs everywhere you turn so it’s kind of hard to get lost. The trains come every 3-5 minutes so you’re not standing there waiting impatiently, which is great for me because I can be a very impatient person.
I can’t help but compare the Parisian metro system to the Metro in DC. I had an internship last year in Georgetown so I was commuting from Fredericksburg to DC two days a week for the whole semester. I got very accostumed to the Metro, more so than ever before. I would usually have to wait 15-20 minutes before a metro car even arrived because I would be commuting at a weird hour of the day. For people who know DC, know that Georgetown is basically its own little island. The closest Metro station is about a 20 minute walk from the main area, which is very inconvenient when you’re walking around in a boot for a whole month.
Paris is a hub system, so there’s usually a metro station five minutes from wherever you are. The DC area is obviously very different *cough cough sprawl* because it is a hub-and-spoke system, so metro stations aren’t as accessible. How can we fix a situation that seems to be unfixable? That is a loaded question and there is no quick and easy answer. The French government is so different from America’s, so basically we would have to rule out beuracracy all together in order to get anything fixed. We have to be willing to face a problem in order to fix it, and right now it doesn’t seem to be that big of a priority.
I hate having to drive in D.C., and for a while, I was afraid of driving on highways, so the metro has provided me with a safe, less stressful way to get to D.C. As you point out in your post, the D.C. metro is not without its problems, and it’s intimidating to think of how much the U.S. needs to do to fix everything.