International students face many cultural differences every day while living abroad. It starts with the obvious – different tasting food, new stores and people with unusual personalities than what they are used to.
But something that really drives me crazy in Minnesota as an international student from Prague, Czech Republic is public transportation.
Even before I came to the U.S. in January, I knew public transportation here was bad. You hear different stories, and I assumed it was mostly meant for interstate traveling and that within one state it would not be as bad. Well, I was wrong, and the stories were right.
I did not realize how bad it was at first because I live on campus, and I did not need to go anywhere. I had everything I needed.
But then I started to want to visit places and to see new things not on campus.
I started to discover the options I had and what places I could visit. Slowly, I realized that if I want to get anywhere, I would need to plan at least a week ahead, because the public transportation system here is so complicated. For a 15-minute car ride, you need to transfer at least four times and ride the bus or train for an hour and a half.
For my first weeks here, I tried to get the most out of the options I had. I walked to many locations, discovered nice places around campus and took the shuttle bus from the St. Paul campus to the Minneapolis campus, where I could walk around downtown and find places there too.
But as the time goes on, it’s just not enough.
I asked people I met here because I just could not believe there is not another way for me to get around. I wanted to see Minnesota lakes, nature, Chicago and other places in the U.S.
And mind you, back in Europe, I can get from Prague to Vienna, Berlin or Bratislava in four hours by train or bus. I can even get to Amsterdam or Zürich (which are both pretty far) just by one bus.
Where does one bus here take me? Maybe 20 minutes from campus.
To my disappointment, all my schoolmates confirmed that’s just how it works here. Either you have a car, you take a plane, or you stay home.
Because the public transportation here is non-existent.
What surprised me the most about it is that we live in the 21st century, and all we can talk about is ecology and climate change. So why is one of the most influential countries in the world unable to create functioning public transportation, so people do not have to use cars and planes all the time?
In Europe, between ten to twelve percent of people use public transportation to commute to work, in the US it is only two percent. The reasons may differ, but the most common are the price, the long wait times and routes that are inconvenient for the people.
Because in Europe, the cities are built with public transportation. In the US, everything is built around highways, so people are forced to use cars. It is truth that it is more environmentally friendly to travel by car than a plane (which is still a big part of travelling across the U.S.) but is still very unsustainable in comparison to using trains and buses.
Using buses and trains can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to two-thirds per passenger, per kilometer compared to using private vehicles. Unfortunately, there are not enough routes in the U.S. to make this change, and the prices of the existing ones are unaffordable.
As you can see in Europe, it could be done. I can get anywhere in the Czech Republic and to other countries by bus and train.
Being an international student and tourist in the U.S., I would really appreciate it if I could just travel around safely, cheaply, and comfortably without having to drive or fly.
Daniela Kopřivová can be reached at kopr1448@stthomas.edu.