It’s a new day-- you’re waking up. Wherever you have to go, you know you have to get there one way or another. Here is an exclusive look into those whose lives evolve around the convenience, along with several struggles, of public transportation in most places of South America.
A portable, four wheeled method of transporting one to different places in a city has never been as chaotic, stressful or life-changing for me as it has for many others who daily use public transportation, especially buses.
There is so much more to the sentence: “I took the bus, today.” You never know if you’ll make it. Taking a bus to a destination in South America can be adventurous, a meditation spot, and you could honestly have the ride of your life—figuratively and literally. There is no better way to experience the thrilling sensation of life or death than on a South American bus ride.
1. Where’s the r-e-s-p-e-c-t?
Bus drivers seem to put no interest in the lives of their passengers. For the most part, from experience and what I have seen, bus drivers are aggressive and basically irrational. They focus on what they could do to beat the red light. Ultimately, bus drivers maneuver around other buses in order to stay in the lead. There is literally a lot of competition on the streets. Whenever there is an emptier lane, you know that a bus driver will take the incentive to turn right over to that lane—without acknowledging the responsibility he has in his hands. This drives me, and I can surely say the passengers, insane.
2. Save money—ride a bus!
Bus rides are relatively economic in South America. Due to how much money people save on bus rides, the bus drivers along with their money-collectors have recently decided to rearrange their routes according to what is most convenient for them. Let me explain how this works. I am on point A and need to get to point E, but in between point A and E there is point C. That is where there are more humans in need of a bus, so my fellow bus drivers proclaim to the public that their route is only from point A to point C.
Most bus drivers are clever enough to fill their bus up and then drop the travelers off at a random bus stop to proceed with the same method. We are being lied to, but we must understand that the system is corrupted. At the end of the day we’re still paying almost a tenth’s worth of the cost of riding a cab. All we can do is to wait for a different bus, a larger one that will happily charge us (insignificantly) more because it’s making the exception of going to our final destination (although all of the buses are meant to). We accept that fare and we move on with our lives.
3. Bus rides are life changing.
You will never appreciate life as much as when you are riding a bus. How so? The ridiculously crazy-dangerous driving you will encounter yourself with will make you want to hold on to anything, including the person sitting next to you (I must admit I have done this before). The larger-than-life swaying from side to side as if you were surfing, is also memorable and helps you notice how nice it is to be alive and not on a devilish monster ride.
Not to mention, every 15 to 20 minutes “special” people hop on to the hectic ride. Those people provide entertainment, are reaching out for help, or selling all sorts of products for the sake of receiving an exchange of spare coins. Some of these people’s life-stories and current struggles are shocking and I take a moment to reflect on the positive aspects of my life, and how I take for granted every day and the blessing of being healthy and for the most part joyful. Well, here’s a small disclaimer—people lie. Such stories, usually, aren’t true or are exaggerated.
It is up to you to decide whether your coins will stay with you or be given out to a desperate stranger, if the coins haven’t fallen out of your pocket when you hilariously lost your balance and almost fell on your side after the bus stopped, abruptly turned, spun, flew…you get it.
There is something terrifying, but yet special and exciting about experiencing a bus ride down here. All around the world there are different systems of public transportation, but being honest, sometimes I get more thrilled while riding a bus in South America than on any other roller coaster out there.
