Helen

Despite nearly three months of living in Santiago de Compostela, I know of only two gas stations in the entire city. Yet in Lawrence, it’s not unusual to see more than two gas stations within a one-block radius.

This contrast demonstrates Spain’s lack of dependence on cars. Spaniards rely instead on the country’s excellent system of public transportation. Once one calculates the price of gasoline here in Spain, it’s easy to see why.

Santiago de Compostela is a college town similar to Lawrence, but the two cities differ greatly when it comes to the citywide bus system. Santiago’s system surpasses the struggling T-system in terms of both cost and convenience. Residents of Santiago can purchase a bus card with a certain number of trips for the equivalent of approximately 60 cents per ride.

The buses run throughout the city. My bus, No. 15, picks me up from a bus station just around the block and drops me off 10 minutes later in front of the building of my morning classes, saving me a 35-minute walk.

In addition to the citywide buses, there are buses that run to and from the airport, as well as to other cities within the region of Galicia. Like many students at the University of Kansas, the majority of Spanish students at the University of Santiago de Compostela are from the region. These students often return home on weekends by bus or train. I often used The Jo’s K-10 connector to get to Overland Park, but it doesn’t run on weekends and the stops aren’t very close to my house. Students living in Kansas but outside of Johnson County don’t even have the choice of returning home by bus.

As for national travel, the United States has nothing to compare with Spain’s extensive system of trains and buses. My Spanish roommates could not believe Americans don’t normally use trains or buses to travel to other states.

I once tried to take the Megabus from Kansas City, Mo., to St. Louis. The company was very unorganized — the complete opposite of the well ordered Spanish system — and, unless one purchases a ticket months in advance, costly, too. Public transport in the U.S. lacks inexpensiveness and convenience of the Spanish system.

Michael

My next step after arriving in Frankfurt Airport on March 2 was to catch a train to Bonn. Germans have a reputation of being extremely punctual, especially when it comes to trains. Finally it was my chance to test this familiar stereotype.

Sure enough, at precisely 13:58 — Germans officially use military time — my train had arrived. One hour and 44 minutes later, I arrived on time in Bonn.

While the train made its way across the German countryside, I remembered my lone Amtrak experience back in the States, when what I expected to be a relaxing eight-hour ride from Chicago to Kansas City turned into nearly 12 hours of sudden stops and long delays.

When it comes to public transportation, much can be learned from the Germans.

The Kansas City Metropolitan Area has an estimated population exceeding two million ­— more than six times the size of Bonn. Yet Bonn’s array of public transportation — light rails, subways and buses included ­— dwarfs that of Kansas City’s meager metro bus system.

And that’s only inner-city transportation. Regional commuter trains and international high-speed trains make regular stops at Bonn’s central station in typical German fashion.

And as for Kansas City? It boasts the most freeway lane miles per capita of any major metropolitan area in the U.S., according to a 1999 report.

Those of us stuck stateside can only hope the $8 million set aside for inter-city rail projects and high-speed trains, courtesy of the economic recovery package, will provide a much-needed boost to our public transportation.

Yet with $27.5 billion reserved for highway and bridge construction projects, it is obvious where the United States’ priorities remain.

— Mubarak is a Shawnee sophomore in journalism and Spanish. Holtz is a Topeka sophomore in journalism and German.