As I mentioned in my last blog, I spent a lot of time on buses in Peru, and bus travel is the most common mode of transport for Peruvians. This was highlighted to me when I first arrived in Lima and asked my hotel staff how I should get downtown. They provided me with a map that noted bus stops along a main thoroughfare that led to the center of the city.
This would have been expected, but when I got to the bus stop, I found it was actually running on a separate set of lanes down the middle of the highway and had platforms just like you might expect to see on a subway or rail transit system. And like a rail system, the buses also had multiple cars attached with accordion style sections.
The accordion style buses were part of a formal city transit system, but there are also a multitude of private companies in the game as well, from start ups, like the local combi’s, to major national bus chains. And the quality and variety of service is just as extensive. For instance the combi and ‘mom and pop’ local buses sometimes look as if they’ve been on the road since the early 70’s, or 80’s. They cough and spew smoke like they are burning as much oil as they are gas, and the owners probably pray every day that they break even before they break down.
These local buses are an adventure to ride and the transport comes with entertainment as well. It starts with the door man, each one has his own style, but most sell the routes in the same sing song fashion of an auctioneer. I never knew what they were actually saying, but they say it with such flare, I’m convinced there are a few passengers that hadn’t planned on the destination, but were talked into as the bus pulled up to the curb. At one point I think I saw this happen. A man was standing at a stop and didn’t flinch when our bus pulled up, but our door man broke into his song of stops and rock bottom prices, and just as we were about to pull away, the man jumped up and hopped on like he’d had a change of heart… 'why wait for the bus home when this bus is really going places.'
Now the door man is responsible for more than just selling the route. He also collects fares and issues change, often one handed, while tearing and issuing tickets with one smooth motion of his thumb with the other hand. And, he is rarely stationary, hopping on and off the bus at each stop, wandering up and down the aisle to collect fairs between stops, and hanging out the door as the bus approaches the next stop. I often wonder how they can keep up the momentum and energy all day, everyday.
In addition to the door man, you also get the salesmen, who hop on the bus between stops to sell anything from paper clips to snake oil, like infomercials on wheels. At one stop we pick up a paper clip salesman who has a colored assortment attached to his demonstration piece of paper. He glides his hand down the side of the paper to note the various colors available, then demonstrates the clips uncanny ability to be removed and re-applied. The crowd is unimpressed, and he bails at the next stop to be replaced by the candy man selling individually wrapped candies. It’s a hard crowd and he jumps off with out a sale as well.
Combi’s lack the salesmen, but still have the tag team of driver and doorman. The combi's are also often decorated with lights, trim, and religious ornaments. Since they are smaller, they often are packed much tighter, and compete with other combi’s for passengers and the road. On one trip out of Puno, our driver had been battling another combi for position and every time he took the lead the other driver was laying on his horn, so that he could pass. Horns are very popular here and are used to say, 'Hello.' 'Watch out.' and in this case 'Get the HONK out of the way!'
At one point our driver finally cracked, stopped the car in the middle of the street. He got out, proceeded to walk back and punch the other driver through his open window. This was followed by a short verbal argument as other drivers drove by, and Mother Mary looked on from the dashboard. A nun who had been on board with us got off at the next stop. I’m not sure if it was her stop, or she simply didn’t want to be involved in the next case of road rage.
On the other side of the coin you have the major national chains that cater to tourists. These are new fleets of large, plush, air conditioned tour buses. Some have tour guides and make multiple tourist stops between major city destinations, while others are equipped with wi-fi to lure the 21st century traveler. I tried nearly all of them on my visit, and like the movie, Trains, Planes and Automobiles, I'd have to string multiple modes of transport together to get to some places. Getting to my next stop, Paracas, would require a combi, bus and taxi, but before I left Lunahuana, I was going to do some rafting and tour Incahuasi.
This would have been expected, but when I got to the bus stop, I found it was actually running on a separate set of lanes down the middle of the highway and had platforms just like you might expect to see on a subway or rail transit system. And like a rail system, the buses also had multiple cars attached with accordion style sections.
The accordion style buses were part of a formal city transit system, but there are also a multitude of private companies in the game as well, from start ups, like the local combi’s, to major national bus chains. And the quality and variety of service is just as extensive. For instance the combi and ‘mom and pop’ local buses sometimes look as if they’ve been on the road since the early 70’s, or 80’s. They cough and spew smoke like they are burning as much oil as they are gas, and the owners probably pray every day that they break even before they break down.
These local buses are an adventure to ride and the transport comes with entertainment as well. It starts with the door man, each one has his own style, but most sell the routes in the same sing song fashion of an auctioneer. I never knew what they were actually saying, but they say it with such flare, I’m convinced there are a few passengers that hadn’t planned on the destination, but were talked into as the bus pulled up to the curb. At one point I think I saw this happen. A man was standing at a stop and didn’t flinch when our bus pulled up, but our door man broke into his song of stops and rock bottom prices, and just as we were about to pull away, the man jumped up and hopped on like he’d had a change of heart… 'why wait for the bus home when this bus is really going places.'
Now the door man is responsible for more than just selling the route. He also collects fares and issues change, often one handed, while tearing and issuing tickets with one smooth motion of his thumb with the other hand. And, he is rarely stationary, hopping on and off the bus at each stop, wandering up and down the aisle to collect fairs between stops, and hanging out the door as the bus approaches the next stop. I often wonder how they can keep up the momentum and energy all day, everyday.
In addition to the door man, you also get the salesmen, who hop on the bus between stops to sell anything from paper clips to snake oil, like infomercials on wheels. At one stop we pick up a paper clip salesman who has a colored assortment attached to his demonstration piece of paper. He glides his hand down the side of the paper to note the various colors available, then demonstrates the clips uncanny ability to be removed and re-applied. The crowd is unimpressed, and he bails at the next stop to be replaced by the candy man selling individually wrapped candies. It’s a hard crowd and he jumps off with out a sale as well.
Combi’s lack the salesmen, but still have the tag team of driver and doorman. The combi's are also often decorated with lights, trim, and religious ornaments. Since they are smaller, they often are packed much tighter, and compete with other combi’s for passengers and the road. On one trip out of Puno, our driver had been battling another combi for position and every time he took the lead the other driver was laying on his horn, so that he could pass. Horns are very popular here and are used to say, 'Hello.' 'Watch out.' and in this case 'Get the HONK out of the way!'
At one point our driver finally cracked, stopped the car in the middle of the street. He got out, proceeded to walk back and punch the other driver through his open window. This was followed by a short verbal argument as other drivers drove by, and Mother Mary looked on from the dashboard. A nun who had been on board with us got off at the next stop. I’m not sure if it was her stop, or she simply didn’t want to be involved in the next case of road rage.
On the other side of the coin you have the major national chains that cater to tourists. These are new fleets of large, plush, air conditioned tour buses. Some have tour guides and make multiple tourist stops between major city destinations, while others are equipped with wi-fi to lure the 21st century traveler. I tried nearly all of them on my visit, and like the movie, Trains, Planes and Automobiles, I'd have to string multiple modes of transport together to get to some places. Getting to my next stop, Paracas, would require a combi, bus and taxi, but before I left Lunahuana, I was going to do some rafting and tour Incahuasi.
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