Madrid is broken...

...or at least its transport infra- structure is. After a week of com- muting around this city, I am astonished the locals tolerate the traffic, pollution, and squalor: far too many people drive, and as a consequence neither buses nor taxis are worth taking, at least between 7am and 10am or 5pm and 8 or 9 in the evening. Even at 4pm the traffic is starting to back up, despite the fact that most people don't finish work until 6. The metro system isn't too bad, but it only covers the centre of town and the stations are absurdly close together. How did they let it get this bad? Surely this can't work for anyone (however nice the architecture you get to look at while you are in the jam)?