Bad Car

I have seen in movies and such, countries, with well-organized and functioning public transportation system made especially for those without private vehicles. The system is so good that even people who can afford to own vehicles choose not to and even those who own private vehicle occasionally choose to use public transportation system.

They have designated Bus stops and Train Stations that is close enough for you to stroll to and catch a ride to your destination. They also have Taxi’s and with the recent introduction of the UBER app, getting a cab is just a click away. With this app all you got to do is search for the nearest uber driver around your location and voila!!

Well, where I am from, we have a public transportation system alright but it is very far from the picture I painted above. First of all, we don’t have trains at all. Oh wait! Last year our government commissioned (I think it was) a couple of interstate train that links some northern and western states but you don’t want see those trains, let alone board one. They look like the trains you see in a 1970 Indian movie and I’m pretty sure they got those hand me downs from India.

My parents and some older heads have told me that the used to be trains in the country in the 70’s. All that is left to collaborate their claims are just abandoned rail lines I see when I visit or pass though some first generation states. From what I have seen and researched on, the trains were few and far between.

There are buses and cabs in my country, a whole lot of them. Some of this ‘commercial vehicles’ as we call them are painted with special colors, some are not. I think they make up eighty percent of the cars you will see on our roads because the average person can barely afford to feed his family and send his kids to school let alone own a car. A lot of people only build houses and buy cars after a lifetime of working and savings. This is greatly worsened by the fact that the mortgage system don’t work in my country and the ones available are not patronized because people are generally cynical about it and rightfully so.

Anyways, we also have bus stops but there are so few and far between so naturally all this vehicles pick and drop their customers anywhere along the roads and streets. Hope you can picture the rowdiness.

There is also no enforcement on the passenger limit for this commercial vehicles. This drivers have to overload the vehicles to cover for the high cost of fuel, frequent vehicle repairs caused by the bad roads and expensive levies charged by different transport regulation agencies and unions. Saloon Cabs, which are supposed to carry a maximum of 4 passengers sometimes carry as much as seven. A twelve seater Bus carries up to fifteen passengers sometimes.

You can imagine the loss of life’s when there is an accident. This drivers drive recklessly and occasionally exchange words with each other. Spitting on peoples cars if not faces; fist fighting and duels are not uncommon.

Motorcycles and Tricycles are also used for commercial transportation in my country. There are so many motorcycles and Tricycles on the roads. All Tricycles are painted with a special color depending on the State it is operating in. I bet the roads they operate on look like a sea of tiny beetles from an Arial view. The Motorcycle and Tricycle are the most patronized means of transportation in the Country wherever they are allowed to operate because they are the most convenient and efficient means of transportation available.

This Tricycles and Motorcycles also drive recklessly endangering the life of their passengers. These vehicles are most times overload too. Tricycles which are not designed to carry passenger in the front seats, do so while the Motorcycles sometimes carry as much as three passengers on the back seat.

Some states allow all this commercial means highlighted above to operate while some allow only some. There are certain states which allow all of them to operate in their state save the state capital. Meanwhile there are also some cities where certain vehicles are not allowed to ply certain roads or street some for security or merely aesthetic reasons.

I live in the State Capital of my State of origin. Here there is a total ban on Commercial motorcycles hence only buses, cabs and tricycles are allowed to operate in the state capital. Because of this, the tricycle is the preferred means of transportation in the state capital because it is the most convenient, efficient and easy to see means. The Commercial buses and cars are obviously used as a last and desperate resort or only in roads where tricycles are not allowed to operate. The commercial buses and cabs stick to operating in the major roads mainly. I don’t know if there is a law to that effect or if there are other reasons. The tricycles on the other hand transit the length and breadth of the capital city but with very terrible restrictions. There are certain roads or streets where there are not allowed to ply at all, like the road that leads to the government house. They say it is because of security and aesthetic reasons. They have designated special buses to ply this particular route. I hate buses by the way, I feel like so choked up anytime imp in them.

But the worst restrictions are those that limit the tricycles to certain portions of a particular road or street. The effect of that is that if your destination is within the designated no tricycle zone you have to trek the distance which can be substantial. If your destination is outside the quadrant and there is no alternate street route joining the two tricycle stops you have to trek the gap to get another tricycle and pay double for a distance you could have paid half the price for. Then if you are ‘lucky’ and there is an adjourning street that connect the two tricycle stops, good for you but you pay for it with your time.

Lucky me, I ‘have’ a car and life is good. I don’t have to go through what other people are facing with the commercial transportation system. I have been driving full time for a more than five years now and so used to it. I drive a Toyota corolla 2005 model, so you can say I drive a decent car (Considering where I am from). If I want to be honest though, it belongs to my mom. See my mom is unable to drive the car or any car anymore because of her health condition. So naturally as the eldest male in the family I started driving the car just to run errands my parents and it naturally progressed to be ‘my car’. I now use the car for all my personal runs. My business, my school and pretty much everything. I am responsible for fuelling the car, routine maintenance and minor repays. I engage in some entrepreneurial activities which gives me the means to carry out this responsibilities.

The car hasn’t had a major breakdown till recently. Everything went to hell all at once. The radiator began leaking. The shocks started squeaking. The bumper went loose. Noises and strange movement from the bottom of the vehicle. Diagnosis showed that I had to make a lot of replacement in the car. I ended up spending a fortune on repairing the vehicle and half of the funds came from a loan I took from my mom while the other half was all of my savings. The car wasn’t still sound for use. My parents blamed me for it. They Said I drive carelessly that why the car has completely broken down. This is not true at all. I have not had any accident of even made a dent on the car since I started driving it. I agree that there has been a few scratches here and there but hey who hasn’t scratched his or her car before. Even my Dad has major scratches on his car, just saying.

Anyways, I was broke and my mom refused to fund more repays. My dad on the other hand was broke too. The car was still road worthy, at least for driving within the city but my dad stopped me from driving it. So I had to resort to using commercial transportation.

Bear in mind that I haven’t used commercial transportation in about five years, so imagine the shock to my system. Don’t get me wrong, I really do enjoy the tricycle rides. I find it refreshing but the restrictions on them and resulting suffering kills the vibe. The prospect of jumping from one tricycle to another, or having to trek the rest of the distance to your destination because it’s in a no tricycle zone or having to trek through a no tricycle zone to get on another tricycles or having to endure a long detour just to circumvent a no tricycle zone is not appealing at all.

But I learnt a lot during that one month experience. It made me think twice before you went out. I started going to places or activities which are absolutely important and those I’m obligated to. It made me realize that activities and some places I place priority on are not important or even necessary at all. The experience really tested and revealed my resolve, motive and motivations for certain activities and obligations. It showed me that some of the important activities and obligations I even engage in, I only do so because of the convenience of a owning a private car. This was evident because of the huge internal battle I had to fight before I go out. It really affected my new business which required a lot of marketing. And marketing requires a lot of moving around. I also felt firsthand, what the average person who uses commercial transportation in my city experienced daily. I experienced their suffering and time wasting. 

But in all this I come out grateful for having a car.

Sometimes having a bad car is not a bad thing!!

Tell me about the transport System in your country, state and city. 

What recent situation in your life has made you question the motive and motivation for some activities you engage in?? 

Also please share this post with your friends and followers on Facebook, twitter and Instagram