{ imaginativa }: [ Of Public Transportation Methods ]

July 30, 2007

[ Of Public Transportation Methods ]

In El Trigal, where I live in Valencia, there are three types of public transportation, buses, taxis and pirate taxis. This little bit is about the latter. Pirate taxis are old, large cars that fit five people and the driver. For 100 Bs. extra you can take these taxis which run faster and more often than buses. Because I am always late, I do use this service a lot in the mornings, about a month ago I met a lady who migrated from Peru with her two children. Carmen drives a pirate taxi because it is the one job that will let her take care of her fatherless kids and her home.

There is hardly anyone ever reading or sleeping on the bus, here you become part of the whole bus society. The music blasts so loudly on public transit that the user becomes part of the whole, even if you have a headset on, you will end up listening to their music. The fun part is guessing what you will listen at 7 am, Porno-Salsa, Reggaeton, or some old soft rock classic, which seem to still sound loud and clear here. Usually, there is a young man on the bus, who will pick up the fare. You don´t need to have the right change, and can also ask the driver to leave you at the bus stop or somewhere else by yelling: Parada (Bus Stop) or clapping your hands twice. (they will then stop, that is if they can hear you over the music). Unlike Canada where you can enter the bus, drop in your fare, sit down, read, sleep, listen to your headset, people watch or simply drift off into your own little world.

Though there is hardly any public transportation method that seems safe, or any vehicle on the road for that matter. I still like the pirate taxis. In particular Carmen´s; besides the fact that her taxi plays soothing music, in contrast to the Reggaeton or Porno-Salsa the others play, she is pleasant and well spoken. (She even has a box of kleenex in the car!) I´ve always admired women who take on male dominated jobs, a female taxi driver, is very inspiring to see. However, if you look a bit closer you find out that my new friend, has only one leg. I do not care to know how it happened, all that matters is that she does a job, she is useful to society, her family and does it all with a smile. And frankly, I hate Porno-Salsa and Reggaeton.

Labels: advertising and graphic design, working women