One of the first things I noticed about Spain was the wide range of transportation options. During the first week of our program we had guides take us on different modes of transportation and show us how each works. I remember being completely overwhelmed by the different options and routes to school that I decided I would just walk to class but after I got to know the city more and understand public transportation better I used public transportation about 2-4 times a day. In Sevilla the public modes of transportation include: the metro, the bus, scooters, and bicycles. I noticed that a large percentage of people in the city use public transportation, as there are less cars around the city. Most of the roads in the city center do not seem like they are meant for a large influx of traffic as they are narrow, crowded, often one way streets, and at times are pedestrian only roads.
On the other hand, I live in the Bay Area California and the streets are always flooded with cars and the highways are often jammed with traffic. I have once been stuck in traffic during rush hour for over two hours on my way home from school, a 12 mile drive. In California most people rely on cars for transportation and only a small percentage of people use our public transportation. Usually those who use public transportation are those who cannot afford a car and are often used by people of lower socioeconomic status. While in Spain, using public transportation does not correlate to socioeconomic status as people from all classes use public transportation in some form. In Sevilla it is often easier to get around places using public transportation than driving your own car due to the way the roads are constructed. This made me wonder why using public transportation in the U.S. is so rare but so prevalent and so well constructed in European cities, especially in Spain. What’s the cause of this difference? The answer is deeply rooted in the culture and history of Spain and the U.S. Spain is a much older country than the United States and its older cities developed far before the automotive age, while the U.S. boomed in the 20th century when cars became the main means of transportation. Spain’s culture is tightly intertwined with its rich history, as the buildings, architecture, and designs of Spanish cities still represent the moorish and gothic styles of the middle ages. Spanish cities are less commercialized than the United States due to their preservation of history. Additionally, Spain has a much better public transportation system compared to the United States as there are more lines and various ways to transport, such as bikes, scooters, and buses. While the United States lacks frequent local connections that allow people to get to rail stations without having to walk a long distance or drive. The difference is, “European planners designed new suburbs in ways that made transit use still viable. Many new towns were built around train and metro stations” while U.S. cities were built along highways with no transit services (English 2018). Contrary to my belief, public transportation in Spain is not popular because people cannot afford cars, but because the cities were built to preserve the history and culture of Spain.
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