Transportation in Italy, France and Spain

traffic in Rome

Pictured on the left is a typical traffic day in Rome. No surprises here. Nothing's orderly and lots of horn honking.

When we got back from Italy, I couldn't help notice that New York traffic seemed tame compared to Rome.

Cars in Western Europe are much smaller than what most drive in the United States.
Parking spaces are few, if any, in the central part of the city are small and difficult to get into. Most trucks, SUV's and mini-vans are used for commercial or business purposes.

Personally, this was nice to see. I have never been a big car person and I haven't owned an automatic transmission since 1988. I'd estimate 75%-85% of the cars I saw were manual stick shifts, including the minivans.

motor scooter parking

If you don't drive or take public transit, many get around by scooter. I saw a few older ones with some rust, but most were newer and in good condition.

Most of the United States is very car dependent so it isn't likely we'd ever see anything like the photo.

As much as I love having a car, I'd be willing to drive less if we had public transit systems that are much more reliable.