Carless Sunday

Yesterday was Carless Sunday in Brussels. I began hearing announcements about this special day about two weeks ago and it immediately piqued my interest. If this meant what it sounded like, I wanted to know how a big city was going to pull this off.

Carless Sunday is exactly what it sounds like. Several times a year Belgium issues out a decree saying that a particular day is to remain carless. Everyone is required to use public transport, walk, or bike wherever they want or need to go.

With the exception of police, emergency vehicles, and a few taxis, it seemed that everyone cooperated in this day to reduce fuel consumption and reflect on a world with fewer cars. Bikers by the dozens flooded the streets. Free public transportation was available to all. It was like a miniature utopia. For one day the streets were dramatically more peaceful and inviting to the pedestrian... not to mention much safer.

The typical European driver is in a league of his own. Cars the size of small sofas recklessly weave in and out of alleys, entirely unaware of the innocent bystanders. Ironically, it is extremely difficult to get a driver's license in Belgium. It costs thousands of euros to even get into classes, insurance is ridiculously expensive, and it is a requirement to be over 18 years old to get a license. Buying a vehicle is the cheapest part of the whole process.

Although, maybe these ridiculous expenses are an incredibly round-about way to go back to why I began writing this blog entry in the first place. The stringent process of attaining a driver's license may be to reduce the amount of cars on the road.

I don't know... just a theory!