For the first time since 1997, the city of Paris is limiting car circulation to try to get rid of a big smog cloud that has been looming over the city for too long.
According to Reuters, the pollution levels are very high, the European Environment Agency (EEA) reported147 microgrammes of particulate matter (PM) per cubic meter of air in Paris – compared with 81 in Berlin and 79.7 in London.
The mayor decided that as a result, you would be allowed to drive your car every other day, based on your number plate’s last number, while public transportation will be free, including public bicycles and electric car-sharing.
I remember when the last car ban was implemented, as I was in high school, it looked like a summer day, when half the city would be away on holiday. Traffic was very light but people were also freaking out about being able to get to work on time, and the public transportation system was crowded.
Having now owned a car until I was 29, I am pretty sure I would have been just fine without driving for a day, especially since on the next day you can do whatever you need your car for, like a big grocery shop or driving your kids to karate lessons. But I know many people who wouldn’t trade a car for the world, even if that means commuting in high traffic for almost an hour each way, when the train could take you there in less.
They like the privacy of their car, listening to the radio, being seated as it gets hard to get a seat on the morning train unless you live at the end of the line and can garb a seat from the start. They are ready to exchange that for extra commuting time and extra expenses, as they need two cars for the household, insurance, gas money, and the higher mileage demands more maintenance.
The ban in Paris is not such a big deal as the city has an ample network of buses, trams, tubes and trains. But some suburbs only have a bus every 20 minutes or so during rush hour, and one per hour in the middle of the day and on weekends. It would be hard to live there without a car, you would really have to be in sync with the bus, and even then you would only have one line that would take you to the train station, that would take you to the next city you need to go to, where you get off the train to get another infrequent bus.s
Living in the center and close suburbs makes it really easy to ride the bus, but it can become a nightmare outside.
Enters cycling, which is very dear to me and a fabulous way to stay fit while moving at a decent speed. Suburbs are usually a few miles apart so walking is difficult. Cycling in Paris is a breeze as the mayor has done a really great job of putting cycle ways all around. A little too much would say the hard core cyclists, as with the bicycle sharing system, many beginners take a bike and peddle like crazy against the traffic, as some of the bike lanes are just that you can take a one way street on the opposite side, which is really dangerous when a pedestrian crosses without looking both ways.
I used to have a bicycle with panniers, so would be able to go shopping with it, commute to work, and put it on the train on weekends so I can use it locally when exploring a new city.
The only drawback about cycling in Paris is the weather. In winter when it is cold and humid and dark by 5pm, it is tough to find the motivation to cycle. My mother does it but she has an electric bike so she can be home quicker than if she had to peddle.
In any case, I would always prefer a neighborhood where I don’t have to rely on a car, because like this ban, you never know what will happen next, so better be able to walk to the supermarket, other shops, the kids’ school, etc.
I think I could live without a car, but it would be hard! Well, maybe not hard, but it would require a lot of advance planning and I live in a small city that does not have a tube or a tram.
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Small but spread out? Otherwise cycling is always a nice option.
My smallish Canadian city has poor bus transportation and I would have a hard time getting around without a car. I would have to take a taxi to and from work on Sundays.
If I lived in Paris and I could walk to work, friends and shopping that would be wonderful. I would have to get a much smaller dog because there is no way I would be dragging those 20kg bags of dog food home on the bus.
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When I had no car I used grocery deliveries for bulky items and it was only $5 for delivery, which when you consider your time and gas is a great deal.
I have recently actually been thinking about ditching the car and biking to work, but the bike ride would be long (about an hour and 15 minutes each way) and the weather around here is unpredictable. I would save a lot of money (about $400/month) and I have no doubt that my fitness level would increase substantially.
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That’s for sure, no need for a gym membership either!
That would be really hard to do in the U.S. since we’re sprawled out all over the place. Personally, I wouldn’t mind it. I hate lugging the kids in and out of a car.
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My friend takes her kids to school cycling, the small one on a little trailer, it is super cute!
We do own one car, but with the proliferation of carsharing today, that combined with cycling, walking, transit, taxis, carpooling, and conventional rental car often makes for a money-saving and very workable mobility option.
Renting one for the holidays to go long distance is often worth it, even if you own a car, not to put a lot of miles on it.
I live in a city where it is almost impossible to get around without a car. Our public transportation is so poor we might as well not have any at all. If I lived in an area with better public transportation I would be more than happy to not drive as often.
The US don’t make it easy to ditch the car, that’s for sure.
I think if there’s ever been a time that I could survive without a car the time is now. I work from home and pretty much everything we need is within walking distance. The only thing that puts me off are those times when you just want to jump in the car and go somewhere with the kids. I suppose you could get a taxi but for some longer journeys – I have family who live in Devon that I visit quite regularly – it would be quite impractical. Still, would it be worth the sacrifice? Tempting.
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I think I would enjoy living in the city without a car. Other cities have done the same thing (Beijing, Shanghai). What ends up happening there is just that a secondary market to buy license plates pops up and it doesn’t really cut down on traffic at all 🙁
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No one enjoys public transport so a car seems vital for most, but then you can perhaps try and plan routes to town without the use of a car quite easily.
Paris also seems to have a ‘ban’ on road signs and driving manners doesn’t it? Haha, or at least that was the way it was the last time I was there a decade or so ago.
Yeah, Paris has been doing this for decades now; as you say problem is polution and it doesn’t ventilate well. I can live without a car; I refused to drive for about two years and my life was just fine. I used public transport, walked and cycled. Now I’m back to driving but the weather is getting better in Manchester so soon there will be a woman on a bike speeding down the roads.
I love having a car because that’s how I grew up (very rural Maine), but I also appreciate that the public transportation in NYC is really excellent. I don’t have to drive at all if I don’t want to and everything I need on a day to day basis is within walking distance.
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Hi Pauline, Houston really stinks for bikers – aggressive drivers, lots of SUVs that drive like they own the road. If they had a great public transportation system, I would use it. We’ve gone down to one car, but I would love to live in a place where we really didn’t need it very often. One day….
Bravo to Paris!
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Nashville doesn’t make it easy to ditch the car, but it’s my eventual goal. There are a lot of factors working against us: bad weather, lack of bike lanes, too many hills, and uneducated drivers.
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One of the best days of my life was the day I got rid of my car for good. No more worries about parking tickets, finding a parking place, sitting in traffic, paying for gas and insurance, or worrying about vandalism to the car. I have lived car-free in the District of Columbia for over five years. I get everywhere by foot, Metro, or bus. Bike-share and car-share are available, but I rarely need either. I am far from alone — over 30% of District households are car-free. I hope I never need to own a car again.
I hope this idea catches on!
Many commenters have focused on whether they could ditch the car for good but why not implement your own self-imposed Paris style scheme and not use the car on say Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays? Or just ditch it for commuting and only use it for personal errands that can’t be done by other means of transportation.
By the way I hate to be a pedant but you “peddle” a bike, and paddle a boat. Sorry had to mention it 🙂
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Forgive my French! I have updated the peddle, thanks for pointing it out. I like the idea of trying to use the car only on set days, it is like having “no spend days” to control your budget. Although if you are going to take the train instead, sometimes buying the whole month pass is cheaper than buying 3 tickets per week so you could commute by train and just use the car for grocery runs and leisure on the weekend.
He he, no problems.
That would be my mindset too with just using it at weekends (and is exactly what I do right now in fact). The train is still bloomin’ expensive but I prefer the trains anyway, at least I don’t have to concentrate on driving it then 🙂