The carrosses à cinq sols (English: five-sol coaches) was the first modern form of

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

in the world, developed by

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

and

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal (19June 162319August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic Church, Catholic writer. Pascal was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. His earliest ...

and operated in Paris in the 1660s.

History

Paris in the era of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

was one of the world's most populous cities, containing more than 500,000 residents in 22,000 residences, 500 major roads, 100 public squares, and 9 bridges. The narrow Parisian road network was created during the

medieval times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

, and did not make the establishment of public transportation attractive. Despite this, a few attempted to organise a modern public transit network. In a corporation founded in November 1661 on the initiative of

, with the participation of the Duke of Roannez (governor and lieutenant-general of the province of

Poitou Poitou ( , , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical ...

), the Marquis de Sourches (knight of the king's orders and Grand Provost of the Hotel), and the Marquis de Crenan, the entrepreneurs presented a request to establish an operation for "carriages which would always make the same journeys...and would always leave at scheduled times".Jean Robert, ''Les tramways parisiens'', p. 28
The system of public coaches was approved and instituted by a judgement of the King's Counsel on 19 January 1662, and signed by Louis XIV. The

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

granted them the exclusive right of operating such a service. After the first trials starting 26 February, five routes were progressively started from 18 March 1662, linking multiple historical quarters of Paris. From its inception, the new service was received positively. Against the wishes of the King, the

Parlement Under the French Ancien Régime, a ''parlement'' () was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 ''parlements'', the original and most important of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris. Though both th ...

of Paris barred the commoners (soldiers, pages, liverymen, and laborers) from riding in the carriages "to assure the greater comfort and freedom of the bourgeois and meritous classes". These 'safety' measures, along with others such as a police ordinance that threatened "whipping and greater penalties" for those who interfered with proper operation on the service, and a fare increase from five to six

French sol The sol, later called a sou, is the name of a number of different coins, for accounting or payment, dating from Antiquity to today. The name is derived from the late-Roman and Byzantine solidus. Its longevity of use anchored it in many expressio ...

s, eventually caused public opinion to turn against the service, causing the enterprise's profitability to decline.Jean Robert, ''Les tramways parisiens'', p. 29 According to Marc Gaillard, the service ran until 1677. Though the precise fate of the ''carrosses à cinq sols'' is not documented by any contemporary sources, certain historians suggest that the service disappeared only a few years after the parlement's restrictive measures entered effect. The franchise for the service was recorded as having been transferred to the Sieur de Givry, although it does not confirm whether a service was actually running at the time.

Description and routes

The coaches used for the service were pulled by four horses and were staffed by a

coachman A coachman is a person who drives a Coach (carriage), coach or carriage, or similar horse-drawn vehicle. A coachman has also been called a coachee, coachy, whip, or hackman. The coachman's first concern is to remain in full control of the hors ...

and a footman. Each employee wore a blue jersey with the coat of arms of the king and of the city of Paris. The vehicles themselves, which carried eight passengers, only stopped on their routes when passengers requested to board or alight at stops. The first line ran from the Porte Saint-Antoine to

Luxembourg Palace The Luxembourg Palace (, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of the regent Marie de' Med ...

via the Pont au Change, the Pont Neuf, and Rue Dauphine. The second line, which linked Rue Saint Antoine and Rue Saint-Denis, began operation on 11 April. The third route, which linked Luxembourg Palace with Rue Montmartre via the Pont Saint-Michel, began operation on 2 May. The fourth route, beginning service on 24 June, contained two new innovations: a circular route and distance-based fares, which were implemented by dividing the circular route into six sections; riders paid five sols when they passed two sections. The fifth route, which connected Luxembourg Palace and Rue de Poitou, started operation on 5 July 1662.

Legacy

The ''carrosses à cinq sols'' exhibited the characteristics of a modern public transit system. It had consistent routes, fixed schedules with regular departures (7½ minutes on the first line), and fares that varied based on distance. However, the social hierarchy of France during this period, coupled with the tendency for residents to live close to where they worked, were factors that significantly reduced demand for the service. The demand for a public transportation service would diminish for another 150 years until the omnibus, the first method of public transport since the ''carrosses à cinq sols'',Gaillard, Marc. ''Du Madeleine-Bastille à Meteor, histoire des transports parisiens''. p. 10. was introduced in 1823.

References

1662 establishments in France Defunct companies of France Public transport

History

Description and routes

Legacy

See also

References