Free travel. So it is a good time to visit this capital, see the Christmas lights, do some Christmas shopping, and enjoy the French food.
Or is it?
The travel has been free for three days now. On day one I wondered if it was the cold weather. I arrived at work and heard my boss complain of a bad throat (avoid him, I thought). Then a colleague suggested it was the pollution.
Yes, he agreed. Most likely now it is so bad.
I asked my colleague if that is why the transport was free. Exactly, he replied. This has happened before in an attempt to get cars off the road.
I saw that only even numbered car plates were being allowed on the road. So when the transport was again free the second day I checked the cars to see if odd numbers were circulating.
Odd, even, even, odd, even, odd, odd.
Perhaps I live and work too far out from the center of town.
Day three and I pick my way through the gridlock of cars, busses, and lorries that are stuck at a crossroads. There are vehicles going nowhere in all directions.
The bus was packed too and my boss has just arrived after 2 hours in a jam.
Because pictures of static busses are uninteresting, here is a picture I took as I walked rather than waited in the cold for a crowded bus. It is an outside decoration filled with plants that you would be able to see if it was daylight.
Perhaps the still cold air is keeping the dust down and pollution up. We need some good old English rain!
