Paris in Crisis!

I thought it was a bit foggy this morning. When I got to the trains I found a notice saying something about them being free, and the barriers were all open. I walked onto the train. The 'free service' started off a little late today. When I changed for the bus, that was free too. From Friday to Sunday it said.

It appears the "fog" is pollution based and as a response to this "crisis" the minister of something had decided that public transport will be free for 3 days.

Presumably this was communicated on the news and media, but since I am immune to this things, the first I knew was when my pass would not work. I saw others receive a "berrrip" instead of a "ping" and give a puzzled look like I did.

As for getting cars off the streets, I can't say I have noticed. However, this lunchtime is a lovely sunny day. So perhaps it worked after all?

Cordialement
Terry
Envoyé de mon iPhone

Evening.
So I have a bit more information now.
It appears this is the first time France has ever taken this step. It was instigated by the environment minister because of the exceedingly high smog levels. In response public transport has put on more busses and made the trains longer. The cause? The 'Connection' newspaper says "A lack of wind and cold nights followed by balmy days have triggered rise in pollution".

More busses - 3 double length ones in a row

However there are still traffic queues, after all it is Friday. Here the traffic just started moving as I took the picture, but you get the idea. The busses have their own lane (usually).

And then there is the smog itself. It was most visible from the top of a double decker train as the sun set. Given that the train was moving at the time, this photo should give you an idea.

Sunsets never look big when taken with a camera phone, the light in the centre is the sun, honest.

The only difference I have seen is that there are lots of busses, and they are all full. I could not get on the first one that arrived, but the second was in sight behind it (with standing room only).

So here is a thought.

If reducing smog means getting people on busses, and if to get people on busses you need to make it free (or very low cost), then isn't it logical that it is in everyone's interest to make public transport very cheap?

Obviously it's a mad idea- but all the best ideas are!

Sunday

Still free transport. In fact they extended it so I travelled free to the airport on Monday too. So the following photo was taken in the middle of the "crisis". You can probably discern the amount of worry these Parisians have over the state of alert.

Luxembourg Gardens at about noon