[History] Ruling classes don't like public transport (or why adding public transport may upset more than the Cabbies' Guild)

Public transport was invented in 1662 in Paris by Blaize Pascal (yes, that Pascal, dude discovered and invented an impressive number of things for someone who kicked the bucket at the age of 39 (a couple of months after founding the first public transport company)).

For 5 pennies a person could hop on and travel the line

Blaize saw to it that profits were invested in extra carriages and charities. Carriages rode frequently on every line (and unlike cabs didn't wait on "their corner" for customers. If you missed it, you waited 7-10 minutes for the next one.

This was the birth of the concept of public transport as we know it today. Until then, there was only private transport or hired carriages in the cities. Paris, then half a million inhabitants, was struggling with famine and the streets were dirty and unsafe. Thanks to the carriages, even people with limited means could travel safely through the city. King Louis XIV granted the company a monopoly on their services.

However, the start-up was not just a success story. The Parisian parliament banned the access of entire population groups, such as soldiers, craftsmen and footmen, in order to safeguard the comfort and freedom of the bourgeoisie. The Parisian population was not happy with this and violent protests broke out. Because fewer people could use public transport, a fare increase was also necessary. In this way, the elements of success slowly disappeared.

It was not until 1828 that there was public transport again in Paris

And that's why I'm sharing this bit of history despite the bulk of it happening before the Victorian Era that Blades in the Dark is more or less set in. Lower classes gaining the option of cheap mobility upsets the social strata. So if you see an opportunity to bring this into your Doskvol, don't just have the Cabdrivers' Guild be in turmoil by this disruptive competitor on the market, bring in the bourgeoisie and nobility! (or just have a flashback where you learned timetables by heart and disappear from a scene by hopping into a 5 pennies carriage)

The reason the upper classes don't like the others gaining increased spatial mobility is because they fear it will bring along more social mobility as well (and the peons need to be kept in their place). In 1834, it took Belgium 17 turbulent sessions in the Chamber before the train was given the green light. Opponents argued that bargemen, postmasters and horse owners would lose their jobs. Member of Parliament Pierre Eloy de Burdinne proved that populism already existed at that time: "Milk, transported by rail, will arrive like buttermilk." His colleague De Roubaulx went one step further: "The eggs will arrive like omelettes."

This sentiment is not only seen amongst the classes. We'll see this again when the introduction of the bike increases the mobility of women (but I'll keep that one for another time).