You were talking, and I quote you, about "major European cities". You can easily reach most major European cities from 30km away in less than 1 hour using publi

You were talking, and I quote you, about "major European cities". You can easily reach most major European cities from 30km away in less than 1 hour using public transport, also after 8pm. Most middle size cities are also quite well covered, depending what you mean by middle size, but 30km away may easily be in the middle of nowhere. If this is the case you are describing, it does not apply to the case of Madrid we are discussing. It is not a generalization, it is a totally different problem.