The French Father of Public Transport

Mass public transport systems are all over the world, from Paris’ Metro to London’s double-decker buses to San Francisco’s cable cars. The idea of having vehicles travel through a city on fixed routes is so obvious that it must have been invented long ago. Maybe it was the Romans, or perhaps the ancient Greeks or even the pharaohs of Egypt? 

But no, it wasn’t until17^th century Paris, under the reign of King Louis XIV, that the world’s first urban public transport system was established. And it wasn’t designed by a transport minister or urban planner, but by Blaise Pascal, one of history’s greatest mathematicians. 

Before Pascal’s innovation, most people walked to their destination. But that wasn’t always convenient, as Paris was then the world’s second-largest city after London. The very rich could travel by their horse-drawn carriages, while the bourgeoisie could use sedan chairs (carried by two strong men) or fiacres, which were smaller carriages rented like taxis. But everyone else walked. 

Cinq Sols 

Pascal saw an opportunity and joined with three members of the aristocracy to create a new transport company. They petitioned the king and received a lettre patente for their idea, giving them a monopoly. 

The new company offered rides in carriages with a driver and a lackey, drawn by a team of four horses. Each carried eight passengers and was marked with the king’s coat of arms. 

Promising “to provide everyone with the same amenities that the rich enjoy,” Pascal’s company opened its first line in 1662, to great fanfare. Rides were priced at 5 sols (sous), which wasn’t cheap but was affordable for much of Paris’s population. They named their system Les Carrosses à Cinq Sols (Carriages for Five Sous.) 

The initial line went from Porte Sainte-Antoine (today’s Place de la Bastille) to the Luxembourg Palace, following a fixed route, with carriages every 15 minutes. Riders could join at fixed stops, or flag down a carriage. 

Success was immediate, and four more lines were quickly added, eventually covering most of the area within a mile of Notre Dame Cathedral. Riders could change carriages at the points where routes intersected, much like today’s switchingstations on subway lines.  

Too Successful 

The system’s success, however, proved its downfall. So many people used it that Paris’s different social classes found themselves riding together. This horrified the elites, who took their case to Parliament, resulting in a statute limiting who could ride. Henceforth, carriages would only be open to the bourgeoisie and ‘persons of merit,’ leaving the petite bourgeoisie and common folks to walk. 

The new statute was not well received and led to violent demonstrations, which were met with even greater violence from the police. New draconian laws were passed that eventually quelled the unrest. 

But while ‘persons of merit’ appreciated the restrictions, they proved fatal to Pascal’s system. With fewer riders, the company was forced to raise prices, which further reduced ridership. The company eventually dissolved in 1677. 

It wasn’t until more than a century later that Pascal’s idea was tried again. By then, the industrial revolution and the expansion of urban areas made it necessary for many to travel long distances to reach their jobs. Nantes, Paris, Berlin, and Manchester all established ‘omnibus’ systems in the 1820s, and this time they were a success. Today, urban transport systems exist around the world. 

Who Was Blaise Pascal? 

Pascal was one of the intellectual giants of 17^th century Europe, and indeed one of the great minds in the history of France. 

He first gained fame at the age of 16, when he wrote a landmark treatise on projective geometry, a field essential to architects and industrial designers. It was so brilliant that René Descartes believed it must have been written by an adult, as no mere teenager could have produced such a work. 

A few years later Pascal invented a mechanical calculator, able to do addition and subtraction. Then his work with fluid dynamics, particularly his experiments with hydraulic presses, led to an understanding of pistons that allowed the creation of spectacular fountains like the one at Versailles. 

Along with Fermat and others, Pascal established probability theory, fundamental to economics and the social sciences. He was also deeply religious and used math to propose what is known as Pascal’s wager, an argument for why people should believe in God.  

Despite his wide-ranging brilliance as a mathematician, scientist, inventor, and theologian, Pascal was not much of a businessman. He spent years trying and failing to make a business out of his calculator invention, and his mass transit system also failed. 

But history has shown that Pascal was a man ahead of his time. Today, we all use calculators and travel on public transport. So, the next time you punch some numbers into your calculator, or ride the subway, spare a thought for this great French thinker.