Sistemas de las Transportaciones

 On the MOVE in Latin America

#1)  Of the three above photos, which would be your least desired form of daily transportation if it was the only means you had for getting around as a passenger, and why?  If you were instead the driver, which would you most prefer, and why?

#3)  México City rivals Tokyo, Japan for claiming to be the largest city in the world.  What does this photo suggest about the 'Quality of Life' residents have?  What are your speculative theories about local transportation systems?  For the 2008 Olympics, the Chinese came up with how to make artificial rain to help clear the air.  Is this the most practical solution for the future?  If not, what is?   

#4)  Puerto Rico is the smallest of Spanish-speaking countries.  It also has the largest % of a population owning cars.  Expressways are slowly carving-up the tiny island for getting around.  Everywhere else is often bumper-to-bumper traffic.  Why is PR so "driven" when the rest of Latin America isn't?  What problems might you foresee for the future?

Venezuela - Redefining "School Bus" - Panamá

#5)  Ever wonder what happens to our old American school buses?  They end-up in Latin America as was one of the most common forms of public transportation - especially in rural areas.  If gas costs only 25-cents a gallon in Venezuela, why do so many people still ride the bus?  And if it only costs 25-cents to ride un Diablo Rojo anywhere around Panamá City, why are government officials trying to ban them?

Guatemala - Colombia - Panamá

#6)  What if you lived in a remote region that had no roads, and the only way you had for getting around was by waterways in a boat?  How would the tropical rainy season, when it downpours for days, affect going to work or school?  If the local grocery store had only dockside "parking", how often would you go shopping and how much would you buy?

#6a)  What if you lived so poorly or primitively that you first had to chop down a tree and make your own canoe, didn't have any type of motor, and had to actually paddle every where you went - including through crocodile-infested waters?

#7)  One of the most common transportation forms throughout Latin America are various types of motorcylces and motorized scooters.  They're absolutely everywhere and driven by men, women and children.  Why do you think these are so popular?  What are benefits over cars?  Why do you think helmets are optional, unlike here in the U.S.?

#8)  Horses, and other hooved mammals, are still frequently used for short-distance transportation around Latin America; especially by campesinos - rural farmers.  What would be the limiations, if any?  How far could one actually go?  Which is more cost effective - grass or gas?  What can animals do that cars and motorcylces can't?

Latin American U-Haul

#9)  If this was the only means of transportation available here in the United States, how many trips would it take to move everything in your house from one place to another?  What if we still relied upon this means of transport?  How would the 'Quality of Life' be further complicated, or perhaps improved if this was your only option?  What does this photo really suggest?

Colombia - Delivery Services - la República Dominicana

#10)  You're home waiting for a delivery, and it's nothing coming from Schwann's! Which of these would you most and least want to receive:  Ice from a horse-drawn cart?  Unwrapped meat on back of a motorcycle?  Breakables stacked on a scooter?  Flowers crammed into trunk of a taxi?  Factor in heat, weather, and road conditions.

Can you say, ¿Taxi?

Transportation drives the economy in any nation but in Latin America, where jobs are so few, it gives entrepreneurs the chance to earn income by providing a service.  When so few have cars, needs for simply getting around town are always in demand.  Some contraptions are  contracted or rented, like U.S. yellow cabs.  However most invent rigs using motorcycles, bicycles, and about anything with wheels to have their own business. 

Moto-conchos are "taxis" that also wait at bus drop-off points along busy highways and intersections for shuttling passengers in to town or distant rural areas.  While faster, they usually service one person where others can take up to four.

* The average fare per person, for any of these four types of taxis, is usually less than US$1 whether riding three blocks or three miles.

#11)  You're 13-years old and need to earn extra money to help support the family.  There is no set legal driving age for any of the above modes of transportation.  Let's imagine you have necessary start-up costs or equipment to begin with any one of the above four photos.  Which do you think has potential for earning the greatest income for a week, month/year?  Qualify/support your choice.  * If your family needs money to buy food and other necessities, this isn't about being/looking vacano!

Things to consider:  passenger appeal; which would you prefer?  Fuel costs if any.  Maintenence, including parts and tires.  Turn-around speed for picking-up and delivering different passengers.  Weather and road conditions.  Out-right ownership, loan payments, or daily rental fees paid with anything above being profit income.

¿Ya estamos allí?  Are we there yet?

#12)  Traffic jams, break downs, and weather-related problems are only some of the things which prolong getting around.  Stopping along roadways to load crops, fueling-up in the middle of nowhere; why don't Hispanics panic?  If time is the most valuable commodity by our standards, why, how do they seem to waste so much of it?

If traveling in Latin America, would you stress or be able to go with the flow?

"Chicken Bus" 

This 'gringo' term comes from when local passengers frequently carried chickens, pigs, and other unusual things on public transportation.  These days, about the only "chickens" are the passengers - especially in Guatemala, which has some of the absolute worst records for highway safety and vehicles that can't even pass their low-standards of inspection but are still in-use.

Our retired charter-type Greyhound buses are also ending-up in Central America as perceived luxuries.  Bathrooms and air-conditioning rarely work.  Emergency exit windows are often propped-open for ventilation and escape hatch covers missing.  The above Guatemalan driver was literally "playing chicken"; speeding down a two-lane highway, tailgating another bus while competing for picking-up passengers.

#13)  What if these were common, acceptable standards and practices in America?  If these forms of public transportation were our only way for getting around, what would Americans think and do?  What if you were traveling in Guatemala but could afford a private shuttle that would cost a week's worth of local wage?  If the native people don't have that option, what choices do they really have?   

Andar - Since the Beginning of Time - Caminar

Walking is still a very large part for how people get around in Latin America, whether by fate or choice.  Some walk quite long distances on a daily basis, in the tropical heat and all kinds of weather.  If one has their health, they're ready, willing and able! 

While traveling, it's my favorite way for exploring - close encounters with the culture and people.  It has also helped me realize I can walk more at home.

#14)  Why don't most Americans choose to walk more places; anywhere less than one mile or two?  How does income shape decisions, overall physical fitness, and a cleaner environment for the people of Latin America and the United States?   

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La Ciudad Perdida, Colombia

San Pedro Sula, Honduras

Parque Nacional Chagres, Panamá

Esquipulas, Guatemala

Piñones and Puerto Rico's Wilderness Coast

Los Mercados de Latinoamérica

Travel - the best form of continuing education