Transportation

In Texas, there is really only one practical way to get around...by automobile. You can drive a scooter or motorcycle, but heat, inclement weather and long highways make this impractical for your sole means of transportation. Basically, if you don't own an automobile, you are underage or indigent!

I am unsure what the statistics are on car ownership in Geneva, but it is obvious to me that owning a car is more of a hassle than it is worth sometimes. They are very expensive. Gas is outrageous by American standards. My husband had the oil changed and it cost 300CHF. (A Swiss Franc is just slightly cheaper than a USD.) Parking, especially if you live downtown is a huge issue. We rent 2 spaces at the Kempinski Hotel, which is a block away, for about 420 CHF each, per month. You must own two sets of tires, summer and winter. And if you don't have space to store them in your apartment, you can pay the garage to store them, as well as change them twice a year. If you want to travel out of the city and get onto the highway, you need to pay a highway tax and put a sticker on your car. Highways are "highways," not "freeways." Toll booths come too often and are pricey. There are many other expenses and inconveniences, I am just elaborating my point.

Cars are also much smaller here. You have all seen the adorable Smart cars running around in the US. They have tons of them here, and believe it or not, they are not the smallest cars here. I have seen golf carts bigger than some of the cars here. I have seen a few cars with ONE seat. There are scores of motorcycles and motorized scooters. There is lots of equipment for these designed to protect a person from rain and cold that I haven't seen before.

So, you may have asked yourself, "how do these Swiss people get around?" Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of cars. But living downtown, it is by far much easier to use public transportation. There is an extensive network of trams, buses and trains. To get to my husband's office, for example, I can catch the #1 bus to the train station and get on the #5 bus and it will drop me off in front of the office, all under 20 minutes. (It is also about a 20 minute walk.) You can also take the #5 going the opposite direction towards the airport and be there in 25 minutes. (It takes just as long or longer in a taxi.) If you take the train to the airport, I believe it gets you there in 7 minutes, but I haven't actually done that yet. You can catch a train and be in Paris or Milan or Zurich in about three hours (give or take.)

Aside from public transportation, people are very creative in their ways of ambulating. Walking is always an option. There are bicycles, skateboards, rollerblades, segways and scooters (not the motorized ones, the ones that you push with one foot - yes, I have seen old ladies and men in suits riding scooters, skateboards and the like.)

For me, I like walking or taking the public transportation. My bike just arrived with my belongings, but I still need to go pay my "bike tax" and get a sticker. My car pretty much stays at the Kempinski unless I decide to drive to Chamonix or Nyon, or Yvoire. But then when I get to where I am going, there is always the problem of parking!