This is the primary way that I get around Addis. They are called taxis here and according to Americans, sit 12 people. According to Ethiopians, they sit at least 15 people but so far, my record is 21 people at one time. How can that be? Well Ethiopians in general are smaller than Americans in general. And they don't have nearly the same idea of personal boundaries. ;)
How does this system work? Well there's the driver (who ranges from angry young adult to just chugging along grandpa) and another guy who collects the fare and calls out the route they are taking. There are specific routes so you have to know the end destination (which is what they'd call) and if your stop is along that way. An example for my DC friends would be someone calling "Shady Grove" and you just have to know Dupont is that direction as well. The fares are set and depend on how far you are riding. The government just changed some of the regulations (just as I was learning the system too!) so there's been some changes. For the most part, the change benefited the majority of people. I happen to live on a route that drivers like because there's a lot of people and they can make a lot of money. But people who lived in less popular areas could not get a taxi in a reasonable time frame so the drivers now have to drive certain routes (and not just the ones that make the most money). So I was used to having taxis all the time and now I may have to wait 5 minutes (oh the horror!) until one comes by with "open" seats.
They run from early in the morning (I haven't had to test how early yet but I'm sure they start by 6 at the latest) and run until 9ish. After 9, you have to take contract taxis (just you, door to door) and negotiate the price before you get in.
To get to work, church and most restaurants, I switch 2 -3 times so I've got a couple of routes and fares down but there's still a lot of routes to learn. I've got time.
Lisa, this post totally takes me back to my study abroad days. From what I remember, the downtown taxi gathering area was very, very loud with all of the guys screaming the names of the routes trying to recruit riders. Oh, and getting lost. . . I remember that feeling too. Thanks for the update!
ReplyDeleteSomething about this reminds me of my own college days where the taxi drivers would line up and take you and 10 of your friends to any number of local establishments for $1. We would cram 5 or 6 people into a car and drive a few miles all piled on top of each other and the guy would make $6!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear you are figuring things out!
this sounds slightly insane, but that's the whole point of traveling/living abroad. to learn new cultures and how they work.
ReplyDeletethere was a train strike while we were in italy, so the four of us had to cram in a cab with three other people. it worked out well, until another driver decided to pull a U turn in front of us. their car + trailer didn't move fast enough for our driver, so he let loose a stream of angry italian works. i had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. i loved every minute!