Beam me up, Scottie

France prides itself on its excellent transportation system. And in the case of the trains, the SNCF is very much justified in regarding itself so highly. The service is second to none (that I know of) and the prices are very reasonable indeed - with or without a loyalty card of some sort that offers discounts on all trips.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the local bus systems throughout the country. The amount of traffic on the roads here stops what could theoretically be a highly efficient system. Sat on a bus to get me to one of my schools this morning, the bus got caught up in the standstill that was the traffic into the town centre. I was both shocked and appalled by the number of people driving cars with no passengers. I wasn't shocked and appalled in the sense that I'd not seen so many cars on the road - Britain is certainly the leader in terms of unnecessary traffic jams. I was shocked and appalled by the apparent hypocrisy of the French people: there is a vigorous campaign throughout France (as in Britain) to cut our "carbon footprint", suggesting recycling more, turning off the lights, turning down the heating, and so on.

What I haven't seen suggested, neither here nor in Britain, is an incentive to increase the amount of car-sharing that takes place. It could be extremely beneficial to all concerned, as long as the move was promoted correctly and valid incentives followed through. For example, I know that in Britain, many employers charge employees for on-site parking spaces, and I'm led to believe the same is known in France. Now, and please forgive me for believing this to be common sense, why not offer discounted parking permits for those who car-share? Or even free parking to all car-sharers? I'm sure it can't be that difficult to find one or two people working in your establishment that live close by, or on the route that one may take to work. Imagine the reduction in carbon emissions if people actually communicated and travelled into work together! And imagine how much more quickly we could get to work if we travelled in the same car...

If the above were to take place successfully, then maybe the bus networks could run more efficiently, thus motivating people to use the public transport systems available to them and theoretically reducing the number of cars on the road even more.

I am living in a dream-world, and am as guilty as the next person for driving when it's not absolutely necessary. But what is one to do when we can't rely on the transport systems provided? It seems to me that this is a give and take situation, we need to give in order to take advantage in the future - surely it will make us feel good to be saving the planet and reviving a national institution at the same time?

I am also aware that the amount of traffic on the roads has nothing (or should have nothing) to do with the state of the railway network. It's not that re-nationalisation is going to occur any time soon - bring back good old British Rail. The absence of privatisation of the French rail network seems to have benefited rather than hindered. Take note National Rail.

Until my utopia becomes reality, I'll struggle on with delayed trains and buses, and will no doubt use my car when I get back home just to make it easier upon myself. Wouldn't it be nice though?