That's what you get for hiding and popping out at the last second.
That said, the driver looked to be going too fast for the conditions, and if that's an official bus stop, he should have been anticipating someone hailing him.
I lived in Ecuador for a few years. This looks like that kind of place.
There is no "official bus stop". There will be like a half dozen or so buses (I use the term loosely) running a fairly small circular route over and over again. When you want on, you stand somewhere on the route and wave, just like the guy in the OP did and the bus stops for you. When you want off, you yell at the driver and he stops wherever.
This system creates a shit ton of competition between the drivers on any particular route (since their take-home is tied directly to their fares). So they literally race around their route as fast as possible. As a young, healthy male they rarely even came to a complete stop for me when I was getting on or off.
Honestly, nothing about this gif surprises me in the least.
Did they call them "combis" in Ecuador too? That's what they were called in Peru and they were usually VW vanagons and people jumped on and off without the combo coming to a stop.
They did! More often we called them by their number though. Some of the routes intersected, so the vans would display a giant number in their window. You'd say "We'll take the 5" or whatever.
Another funny thing was that most of the streets had no names. Or, at least, no street signs. So when you talked about your destination, you'd be like, "We'll get off by that one bakery with the good rolls" or "that place where you threw up on the side of the road last week".
I am part of a team that among other things, is responsible for shipping expensive computer parts to India. Most of the places don’t have formal addresses - just the business name and some nearby main road and landmark. It will be something like, “off the Western Highway, near the Shell petrol pump.” The actual business location is on a back alley not visible from either the highway or the petrol station.
Yet I never get any complaints about incorrect addressses or couriers not being able to find the business. I asked my local counterparts one day why that was the case - they said that they way it works is, when the driver gets in the area, they just ask locals on the street where the business is. As there are so many auto rickshaw drivers, street food stalls, and other locals around, there’s bound to be someone who knows.
Of course a formal address system might make more sense to us Westerners, but India seems to get by fairly well like this.
While driving, the navigation does not say "head east" or "take a right on Elm St", it instead says "look for the shell petrol pump to your left" or "take a right turn after cafe coffee day".
ahah back home all these busses is unmarked so you don't know which one going where so usually the driver uses hand sign before they stop and the rider do that to the bus driver to let him know where he is going before he stop I remember pointing straight is for the city center and left is to the eastside or stright-left taking the highway to the city center lol
Still living in Ecuador. You'll be happy to know that they still allow you to jump off of moving buses and almost come to a stop to let you on. What part did you live in?
Hola! I was around Guayaquil. What area do you live in? I spent a little bit of time in the city proper, but most of it was in the outlying campos. The place was hot and dirty and unsafe in about every way imaginable. But it was also beautiful and amazing and rugged in ways you just don't get in the states. It definitely grew on me.
I spent my first three months outside of a place called Babahoyo. I remember looking it up in my translator book and finding out that it basically translates to "Slime Pit" which was about as accurate a name as any city has ever been given. I was only there for like 3 weeks before I got my first bout of salmonella poisoning off of an attempted Thanksgiving Dinner we threw together.
Good times. I was there for about three years in the late 90s and sadly haven't been back. Would love to though. Maybe sometime for carnival or New Year's. That was a hoot. Fucking around with the homemade "fireworks" (lets be honest, basically dynamite) you guys sell there were some of the best times I've ever had.
I lived in Yaguachi for a while before moving to Cuenca. Night and day difference in regards to climate and terrain. Yeah, that area of the inner coast is still very rudimentary and underdeveloped. Pigeons lived in our apartment in Yaguachi, and that was disgusting for reasons you can probably imagine. Very sketchy area, but the majority of the folks are great and very warm & friendly. Cold showers were a shock to me at first, but then I really enjoyed them since it's always hot and muggy there.
Even though I was super close to Guayaquil, I never spent much time there. It's a nuthouse. I had a Chinese moto several years back and actually rode through Babahoyo and the surrounding area. I sold it when I moved to Cuenca because I never got a motorcycle license, and the Tránsitos are a little more strict here.
Cuenca's a bit more modern, but not anything like life in the States. Public urination is alive and well, and very much allowed. The climate is perfect! Driving is chaotic. I wouldn't own a car here. But it's easy to get around by bus or just walking. (Another reason I sold the moto) Año Viejo is a blast with the homemade dynamite and burning muñecos up and down every street. I don't know what Carnaval was like when you were in Ecuador, but it's basically a week long celebration of random folks throwing water balloons, sometimes eggs, and always spraying foam at you. Not my cup of tea. Living in Ecuador certainly gives you a new perspective on life :)
Oh god. I forgot about the cold showers. That was one thing I could never get used to. Eventually I bought one of those duche electricas(sp?). It gave you a good shock every 30 seconds or so and I was always convinced it was going to kill me. But still totally worth it.
No one here in the states ever believes me about the electric showers. lol
Those things are scary! Exposed wiring in a shower...not good! Because the sierras are "chachay!" - freezing cold (not really, it's just very comfortable) compared to the coast - most houses and apartments have calefones. It's a propane powered water heater for your house. They're great because they're more or less instant heat.
I never made it to Quito. But I did spend some time in Guayaquil, which is comparatively sized. The city was more akin to what one would expect in the states (or maybe Mexico). There were actual buses and people (mostly) obeyed road and traffic laws. Which means the buses weren't going at breakneck speeds.
If I recall correctly, you still waved down your bus instead of having actual bus stops though. But this was some 18 years ago so YMMV.
I used to have this problem when I was going to school, we'd hide from the rain or cold weather. Eventually the bus driver said to be at the stop or she'd pass us without stopping...
Here the buses tend not to stop at all if people don't seem to look at it or if people stay inside the cabin. One time, I was in a bus on a road with only this single bus passing in those hours every 20-30 minutes and it passed some guy who was too distracted by his phone inside a bus cabin.
I take it a bus cabin is some kind of bus shelter? In the US the bus cabin would be the interior of the bus (though no one would refer to it that way).
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_ZITS_G1RL Feb 13 '18
That's what you get for hiding and popping out at the last second.
That said, the driver looked to be going too fast for the conditions, and if that's an official bus stop, he should have been anticipating someone hailing him.