Something New for the Blog

Alright. I've been getting a little stumped on what I should be writing about, so I've decided to change it up a bit. I'm going to pick a topic and discuss the similarities and differences between how we perceive that topic in the United States and how the people of Colombia view that same topic.

This evenings topic: driving and transit.

Let me start off by saying that I don't drive at the moment. When you live in a city like Chicago that has accessible and well managed public transit, you don't really need a car. And when biking weather comes around, there isn't really even any need for transit.

Also, as many of you know, I tend to get skittish in automobiles, becoming the shotgun or backseat driver that no one wants, critiquing your every move. But enough about me and my misconception about your driving.

Do you think drivers in Chicago and in the United States are bad? You ain't seen nothing yet.

From what I can gather, there really aren't things like lane lines or passing zones here in Colombia: you drive where ever you want to drive as long as it's not on the sidewalks. The only place where lane lines are present are on larger roads, like highways, and much of the time, they are ignored.

You can pass where ever you please as well. If the person in front of you is driving slow and it's angering you then, by all means, pass them whenever you please.

Pedestrians in Colombia DO NOT have the right of way. If a person hops in front of your car while you are driving, feel free to lay on your horn until they jump out of the way or until you hit them, whichever comes first. Bicyclists who ride the streets of Bogota are probably the bravest people you'll ever see because cars tend to ignore them when they are riding in the streets.

Motorcycles are everywhere and their driving lane is where ever their bike is. During rush hours, you'll see motorcycles weaving in and out of cars, buses and even other motorcycles. These motorcyclists have some humongous eggs and so do their passengers because, much of the time, there are two people on a bike.

Taxi drivers are just as bad as taxi drivers in big cities, hustling from fare to fare without a concern for anyone.

The streets of Bogota are confusing as well. During rush hours, some streets (a few of the major causeways) change from two way streets into one way streets. So, between the hours of 6am and 9am, a street will only be used to travel in on direction. After that time, the streets return to two way traffic. Once again, from 5pm to 8pm, the same streets will change into one way streets, only in the opposite direction. The logic behind this is that it relieves congestion, which I assume it does, although it's very confusing and, had I been driving this evening, I may have just started driving the wrong down what I assumed was a two way street.

Where's the police and traffic control people in Bogota? Nowhere. They have more important things to deal with. Sometimes though, when you leave the capital city, they will randomly stop you on your way back into the city to make sure your car is up to code.

Transit, on the other hand, is an entity all it's own.

There are no trains in the city of Bogota but there is an extensive bus system that much of the population of the city uses. I would too because gas (super, which is equivalent to regular grade in the United States) costs $4+ dollars a gallon.

Buses on the major roads are segregated from the rest of traffic with two to three lanes for travel. Stops along the route are stations, much like train stations on Chicago's 'L, where, at times, hundreds of people wait for their bus line to come. During rush hours, stations resemble cattle slaughter house lines with people shoulder to shoulder. I didn't get a chance to ride a bus in Bogota but they looked similar to any other accordion-style bus in any big city, only with double doors on the left and right hand sides. Cost to ride the bus: 1500 pesos or about $.75 a ride. My godfather said the price was so low because people in the city do not make a lot of money.

I'm leaving Bogota in the morning and heading to Bucaramonga, the childhood home of my mother. New topic tomorrow evening.