3 ms·

The French work week is 7 hours so they get an extra hour to fuck around with public transportation a day. So that might help quite a bit. Still I’d be curious

The French work week is 7 hours so they get an extra hour to fuck around with public transportation a day. So that might help quite a bit. Still I’d be curious how upper middle class folks with kids survive without cars. Maybe that 33% covers the affluent folks with kids tho.

jddj 3y ago
Are you saying here that you think traveling by metro in Paris takes an hour longer than driving would?
- nothercastle 3y ago
  Yeah if you have to change transit method it adds a lot of extra time. So metro+ bus adds at least half an hour each way
pjerem 3y ago
I don’t think it’s a class issue because money won’t buy the inexistant parking lots around schools. Also money can actually buy you really nice bikes. It’s just that driving a car in Paris is hard and awful. I lived in a city of <1M inhabitants for the first 5 years of my son’s life without a car (in fact I had one but never used it for day to day life). Public transports and bikes can get you far faster than any car in rush hours. I’ve never had more than 30-40min between my door and my office, including depositing my son. The few times I did it with the car it took me the same time thanks to traffic and it was far more stressful. And it was in France, where public transports are ok-tier but far from top notch in Europe. Also the 7 hour day is pretty false. That’s the minimum time of a full-time job but most people are working 39-40 hours. It’s just that the extra hours are paid or are compensated with off time. In practice you’ll only work 7h/day if you are at the minimum wage.
yardie 3y ago
35 hour work week is for government employees. Obviously, there are a lot of them but there are still more nongovernmental employees who don't have the benefit of a government job or unions that work a typical 35-45hr/week. > Still I’d be curious how upper middle class folks with kids survive without cars. All my middle class friends the kids walk. Everywhere. There are public restrooms everywhere. There are buses, parks, libraries, supermarkets, stores everywhere.
- nothercastle 3y ago
  I fully believe it’s possible if the density is there and the services are there to go with them. In the USA we sometimes get the density but not the public services and spaces.

jddj 3y ago

Are you saying here that you think traveling by metro in Paris takes an hour longer than driving would?

nothercastle 3y ago
Yeah if you have to change transit method it adds a lot of extra time. So metro+ bus adds at least half an hour each way

pjerem 3y ago

I don’t think it’s a class issue because money won’t buy the inexistant parking lots around schools. Also money can actually buy you really nice bikes. It’s just that driving a car in Paris is hard and awful. I lived in a city of <1M inhabitants for the first 5 years of my son’s life without a car (in fact I had one but never used it for day to day life). Public transports and bikes can get you far faster than any car in rush hours. I’ve never had more than 30-40min between my door and my office, including depositing my son. The few times I did it with the car it took me the same time thanks to traffic and it was far more stressful. And it was in France, where public transports are ok-tier but far from top notch in Europe. Also the 7 hour day is pretty false. That’s the minimum time of a full-time job but most people are working 39-40 hours. It’s just that the extra hours are paid or are compensated with off time. In practice you’ll only work 7h/day if you are at the minimum wage.

yardie 3y ago

35 hour work week is for government employees. Obviously, there are a lot of them but there are still more nongovernmental employees who don't have the benefit of a government job or unions that work a typical 35-45hr/week. > Still I’d be curious how upper middle class folks with kids survive without cars. All my middle class friends the kids walk. Everywhere. There are public restrooms everywhere. There are buses, parks, libraries, supermarkets, stores everywhere.

nothercastle 3y ago
I fully believe it’s possible if the density is there and the services are there to go with them. In the USA we sometimes get the density but not the public services and spaces.