{"id":31817,"date":"2020-02-04T05:30:39","date_gmt":"2020-02-04T04:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=31817"},"modified":"2020-02-05T16:14:43","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T15:14:43","slug":"ride-sharing-in-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/ride-sharing-in-france\/","title":{"rendered":"French Culture – Ride Sharing"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’ve talked before about all the different ways to get around when in France. Whether you’re a tourist exploring the city<\/a>, a commuter on your daily commute<\/a>, or un pilote de course<\/a><\/strong> (a race car driver<\/em>) there are always ways to get where you’re going. That was easier said than done, of course, during the recent gr\u00eaves<\/strong> <\/a>1<\/a><\/sup>Which, while they have fluctuated, continue to cause challenges for des usagers \/ commuters across France<\/span> (strikes<\/em>) in France … during which I learned a new term!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Le covoiturage<\/strong><\/p>\n

Le covoiturage\u00a0<\/strong>is a bit like carpooling, a bit like ride-sharing, and all the rage for getting where you want to go in France without your own car … or for helping to defray the costs of your own trips by sharing the ride with another (or\u00a0plusieurs<\/strong> \/\u00a0many<\/em>) rider(s).<\/p>\n

The most famous company dedicated to\u00a0le covoiturage<\/strong> is called\u00a0BlaBlaCar<\/strong><\/a>. BlaBlaCar matches up\u00a0des conducteurs<\/strong> (drivers)<\/em> with\u00a0des passagers<\/strong> (passengers)<\/em> for a shared drive across town or across the country.<\/p>\n

The company’s name comes from a common French expression for conversation\/talking … or empty chatter. In English, we might say yadda yadda yadda.<\/em> When choosing a route, drivers and passengers could specify a ride from a driver\u00a0plus bavard ou moins bavard<\/strong> (more chatty or less chatty) <\/em>depending on the level of engagement you wanted.<\/p>\n

R\u00e9cemment<\/strong>2<\/a><\/sup>in 2018<\/span> (Recently) <\/em>BlaBlaCar expanded their services with the acquisition of a bus company. Now riders can find shared rides with private drivers or access the many bus routes available to get to their destination.<\/p>\n

Et pour finir …<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here’s a little throwback to last week<\/a> when we talked about the different ways to express causality in French. It was actually hearing this song by the Corsican singer-songwriter Saint Andr\u00e9<\/a> that got me thinking about the differences between parce que<\/strong> and\u00a0puisque<\/strong>.<\/p>\n