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I never understood the interior layout of subways in Paris... they have seats positioned right at the door, where people would stand normally. It seemed to me like everyone was always stepping on each others toes, and on each stop the whole train was shuffeling around for people to get in and out.

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This will be hard to believe but it's true: for years and years, the Paris subway authority considered that people would not accept to "be transported laterally", which means seats HAD to be either facing the front or the back of the train, NOT the side.

It still goes on today; some of the newer trains now have a few seats facing the side, but that's as far as they'll go.

This thinking, based on absolutely zero evidence but deeply ingrained, wastes an incredible amount of space aboard subway trains.

That's because those seats are supposed to not be used when there's too many people.

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