During my time in Europe, I was aware of many cultural differences between my host countries and my own, but few were more apparent than the stark gap in public transportation. Throughout the trip, our main method of movement was public transport – ranging from taking the subway to hopping on the bus to even using light rail – which is completely different than my lifestyle at home. This difference in infrastructure was noticed by my entire group, and it became one of the defining points that we discussed frequently.

Thinking upon my time at home in the States, we have a very limited range of public transportation options. For example, Pittsburgh’s PRT system only contains a moderate number of bus routes and a highly limited “subway” system (if the T can be classified as a subway). Still yet, this small amount of public transportation is superior to my situation at home in the suburban landscape of Germantown, WI. There is almost no public transportation whatsoever, especially an option that is within walking distance of my house. The only real choice is to drive a car to the Park & Ride station off of I-43, which is premised upon using private transportation in the first place.

Contrastingly, even a poorer European Union country like Romania has a plethora of public transportation options. Whether in a big city like Bucharest or a smaller village like Deva, there is some kind of public transportation available. More importantly, the public transport arrives consistently and is well-maintained. There is almost no fear of the subway arriving late or the bus being delayed, and the seats are always clean and spacious. The clearest difference appears in Bucharest, but it can really be noticed anywhere. Plus, it almost goes without saying that this trend continued into my group’s travels in Brussels, Belgium and Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The main takeaway from this experience is that Europe – and especially EU countries – value public transportation to a much higher degree than the United States does. Although my cities do attempt to provide some kind of public option, they are underfunded or almost nonexistent, whereas the EU shuffles its money around and Romania makes it a priority to provide this choice for its citizens. This speaks to the broader fundamental difference in prioritizing the public and its needs. Hopefully, America’s ability to fund public transportation will be fully realized one day, and we will see the rise of European-style public transport.