The Streetcar

I come from a city with a famous transportation system that is both loved and despised, at the same time. The thing I notice most immediately whenever I leave New York is the fact that public transportation is not nearly as efficient anywhere else in the world. Riding the streetcar is quite pleasant, once you're actually on it, but New Orleans public transportation is about as spotty as a Dalmatian (Points for a corny simile, anyone?). The St. Charles streetcar has been out of order between Napoleon and S. Carrolton since I started coming to Loyola, and it makes things quite difficult. Often times I wait on the St. Charles bus, but there have been times where I have waited over an hour to no avail. So my usual course of action is to walk down St. Charles to Napoleon, watching the cars that drive by and flagging down the bus if it comes.

When you finally reach the streetcar, it is like being transported back in time to the early 1900's. The seats are wooden with a glossy finish, and the open windows are the only form of air conditioning. The streetcar does not move particularly fast, but it is quite pleasant, and given the relatively small size of New Orleans can get you downtown rather quickly from Napoleon. Just as the dirty, fast, and packed subway embodies New York, the aesthetically pleasing and calm streetcar embodies New Orleans. It has been truly an eye-opening experience to use public transportation in a new city as my primary form of transportation.