taxis, combis, busses and a broken transportation system: Part 1

After about a month of being here, if you just looked around, things start to take on a normal feel. Things are similar enough that you can start to make some web of connection to other things you are familiar with.

Take for an example, the taxi - We've all seen taxis before (in the US, anyway). There are taxis here, too. They are yellow (usually), are in the shape of a car (usually), and have a sign on them (usually). There are some differences (more on that later) but for the most part, the differences blend into what is "normal".

There are a few other transportation modes here, but the most interesting is called a "combi". I've no idea what it means or stands for - perhaps it's an acronym for "Cause Of Mauling and Bodily Injury". Briefly, a combi is any variation of bus or mini-bus that transports people around on a more or less set route. They can be small little VW-camper van sized vehicles or bigger, but they have a few things in common, they cram humans into them, they are cheap, they don't publish their routes anywhere (you have to ask someone who might know, or ask the guy at the door whose job it is to shove people in), and they are dangerous. Dangerous like the way a SUV barreling down the highway in a snow storm seems dangerous - you know what I'm talking about.

Why are they dangerous? First - the driving here isn't strictly regulated. For example, our friend from Peru has no qualms about driving around with out her license or insurance.

Ok.

Dangerous like the suspension system is vastly overloaded by the weight of the people they are shuttling around.

Alright.

Dangerous like the general style of driving is like Boston without road signs, traffic signals, turn signals, headlights or rules in general.

I see.

Oh, and did I mention that they are on the clock? Yeah, they kind of race each other to see who can finish their circuit first. So it's not uncommon to be jumping on or off the thing while it's still rolling, with the guy at the door (the one whose job it is to shove people in) yelling to either get up ("arriba") or down ("baja"). You tend to move quickly when your desired stop is rolling away behind you and a guy is shouting in your ear to baja. "Baja" conjures up other images in my mind - for example - the off-road race in Baja, not so different than the average day in Arequipa.

Here's an entry from Wikipedia on transportation in Lima, but the same holds true for combis in Arequipa: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_Lima

Anyway, it's all an adventure. The taxis, as it turns out are no safer and actually might be more dangerous. Evidently, the most common model of car that is a taxi here was never designed for such a purpose (more on that in Transportation, part 2). These are dangerous for all of the above reasons (disregard for rules, signs, passenger limits and the above-mentioned suspension issues). But they are most dangerous, I suppose, because it's easy to rob a gringo when you have him locked in your car and you are driving like a maniac. So, unfortunately, we have heard of more than, well, let's just say more than 3 people who have been robbed in a taxi. (Dad, this is primarily why you shouldn't rent a car and drive the 15 hours through the barren desert from Lima to Arequipa when you come visit.) It appears that if you are over 5 feet tall, and have light colored skin, you fall into the category of "I'm a rich gringo who likes to be robbed." Not something to aspire to, but nonetheless true.

There are some safe(ish) ways to get around. You can call a reputable taxi company and arrange for a driver. You can avoid the most perilous looking combis, or you can walk - but those adventures should be covered in another blog post.

Part 2 is a bit about the transportation system in general.