Transit consultant credits Blaise Pascal with inventing fixed-route public transport
The gist
Transit consultant Jarrett Walker credits Blaise Pascal with inventing fixed-route public transport in 1660s Paris.
The claim revives a debate over whether earlier Dutch canal boats got there first.
How it unfolded
- 1632The first trekschuit 'sailed' between Amsterdam and Haarlem, carrying 30 passengers along a straight dug canal built to make pulling easy and the route short.
- Mar 18, 1662The first line of Pascal's carrosses a cinq sols ("five penny carriages") began in Paris.
- Jul 1662The whole network was operating, just before Pascal's death.