TRANSPORTATION

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Van buses are seen everywhere packed with people. The driver decides on a route to take and picks up people, wherever, on the way. Luckily, my husband is interested in how any business is operated and Hans is happy to explain. I catch as much as I can from the back seat as we travel.

The bus is owned by one person. A driver contracts with him to use the van at a set fee. He hires a conductor who is paid a wage at the end of each day.

The driver gives his full attention to driving (it's truly a full time  job!). The conductor leans out the window looking for passengers and communicates with them where they are going. If the route fits the client, the bus stops and picks them up. The conductor keeps track of where to let people off. Customers keep looking for a bus that has space and can get them where they want to go. The fare varies, depending on the distance. It works.

In some ways I'd like to try a bus sometime just for the experience, but I can't understand what the conductor is saying and I know my husband would never do it.   

Our chosen mode of transportation is a taxi.

At first Stephen, Hans and Emmanuel picked us up and dropped us off but that isn't very practical since we live so far from where we need to go and it makes a double trip for them, so we have resorted to a taxi.  We hail a taxi, tell them where we are going (we used to have to have it on a paper to remember and be sure we were getting it right) Then we negotiate the price.  We sit in the back seat and bump along the roads, weaving in and out of traffic in spaces you wouldn't believe.  

Most taxis don't have working seat belts so your life is in the hands of the Lord.  It doesn't seem to make us nervous, however.  It's just the way it is.

There are obviously no seat belt laws

 Traffic is always congested but rush hour traffic is terrible!  I said driving is a full time job and that's the honest truth.  It is an art.  You wouldn't believe the way cars work around each other to the left or the right or right down the middle.  We haven't been in an accident of any sort yet but most cars are dented.

The two missionary couples we have talked to have each had 3 accidents so far.
Our new mission president, President Heid had one the first week he was here and he had previously served a mission here.  He opened his door on the street side to get out then leaned in (thankfully) to grab something and a car whizzed by and took off his door.  He said he thought a bomb had it.

This gives you some idea of what many roads are like.  Driving is a very bumpy experience with lots of swaying from side to side as the driver negotiates the obstacles.  I am usually in the back seat and Bob is too when we take a taxi.

When riding in a taxi the windows are down a ways so the air can flow - no A/C, no seat belts, and little room in the backseat.  We add our backpack and computer bag to the mix. The driver often speaks very limited English so we are hoping he knows where we are going.  They often take a different route than the last driver so it's interesting.  Bob loves to track it all and try to figure out what they are thinking.

This is how our taxi driver was dealing with mud! The biggest challenge to taxi rides is the music most of them play.  This driver played church music.  It was refreshing!