Meanwhile: I love Paris on anything but a car [View All]

PARIS: What Paris has dones right is to make it awful to get around by car, and awfully easy to get around by public transport or by bike.

snip

So Mayor Bertrand Delanoë, a Socialist, vowed on coming to office in 2001 to reduce car traffic by 40 percent by 2020.

He's serious about it. I live near the Boulevard St. Michel, and two years ago the city laid down a granite divider strip between the bus-only lane and the cars, squeezing private cars from three lanes to two. Taxis and bicycles were allowed to use the bus lane.

At the same time, every bus stop was newly equipped with a screen which told you how long the wait was for your bus. During rush hour, when the cars stand still along Boul' Mich, there's nothing better than zooming past them in your bus.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/25/opinion/edserge.php