Scene from the city traffic:
Our bus is approaching a T Junction. We stop at the give way sign. From both sides, each left and right a car is approaching. The car on the left is already through.The right one though is still approaching and going fast. Our driver does what every responsible driver would do. He turns on the left indicator (now, really??) honks a few times and thus notifying the other driver that we are going to take his right of way. With even more honking and flashing the other driver indicates that he does not approve. At least that is how I interpreted it. Our van has already turned left and the slower one must adhere to the rule of who is fastest and steps on the breaks immediatly.
Impression of the Highway (to hell?)
Here things are pretty much the same. Traffic lights almost mean nothing over here. I stopped counting after the 3rd light we had crossed and it wasn't just our driver.
Guys always remember, I am from the country of rules and regulations. The people in my country really follow every fuckin rule. I don't mean to be the one with the wagging finger. I am just not used to people not following the rules. I can only show you my german view on things.
Right let's continue. The whole traffic scene is chaos. The proportion of vehicles there are to the number of roads simply does not match.
Later I learn from some Bogotans that the public transportation system is shit because of some corrupt poiticians who thought spending peoples tax money on their own expenses was more important than investing it into transportation. Thus lot's of little private companies have taken on the job which basically means lot's of minibuses instead of fewer bigger buses. The city of Bogota wants to change that of course. Not sure when this is going to happen and whether the small companies will agree to that.
Back to our ride. It was stop and go in the city and now that we are on the highway traffic is getting slightly better. I think the highway had 3 lanes but I am not sure anymore. You don't want to be a busdriver in this town that I am sure of. Our driver does his best. He squeezes our bus into the smallest space available.
There was one situtation when my heart stopped. Our bus overtook a vehicle and went in front of ti. Nothing wrong with one might think. Well no, if there hadn't been any cyclists in front of the other vehicle. Cyclists on the Highway?? Again not happening in Germany.
So what did the cyclists do? They simply had to be somewhere else but where should they go?
They saw us overtaking. I closed my eyes (I think the driver did the same). The calculations of the driver turned out to be right and nobody was harmed. Still the cyclist were not amused i can tell you that!
We are reaching the outskirts of Bogota and the traffic gets better. Despite the smaller amount of cars on the road we are not going very fast and here is the reason why.
At times there are people along the road trying to catch their bus. Again nothing wrong with that. Only problem is that theses people are standing anywhere they like but not the bus stop. People simply raise their hands the moment they see the right bus. This does sound very comfortable and seems practical at the beginning but if you have a closer look...
Here comes the german longing for efficiency. I am sorry, I really am.
The sheer amount of cars decelerates the traffic already. But now you also have minibuses on 3 lanes that go from the fast lane to the far right and the other way around all the time just because there is a single person standing on the side of the road.
This way there can be no flow in Bogota's traffic. The fun part is still to come. Most of the time the bus that goes left is not even the bus the person wants. How should bus drivers know? They have to guess.
That is why I propose the following solution only until the city of Bogota introduces their changes of course. The goverment should hand out signs with numbers on them. A sign for every bus line. This way people could show the bus drivers which bus they are waiting for.
I think I will never forget this trip to the monastery. If you can avoid Bogota's rush hour, do it. Although I am not even sure if this was rush hour as it was 8pm when I hopped onto the bus. So only 2 and a half hours later (a route that normally takes 45 mins) my driver mumbles the words monasterio aqui and i step out of the bus and into the night.
There was one situtation when my heart stopped. Our bus overtook a vehicle and went in front of ti. Nothing wrong with one might think. Well no, if there hadn't been any cyclists in front of the other vehicle. Cyclists on the Highway?? Again not happening in Germany.
So what did the cyclists do? They simply had to be somewhere else but where should they go?
They saw us overtaking. I closed my eyes (I think the driver did the same). The calculations of the driver turned out to be right and nobody was harmed. Still the cyclist were not amused i can tell you that!
We are reaching the outskirts of Bogota and the traffic gets better. Despite the smaller amount of cars on the road we are not going very fast and here is the reason why.
At times there are people along the road trying to catch their bus. Again nothing wrong with that. Only problem is that theses people are standing anywhere they like but not the bus stop. People simply raise their hands the moment they see the right bus. This does sound very comfortable and seems practical at the beginning but if you have a closer look...
Here comes the german longing for efficiency. I am sorry, I really am.
The sheer amount of cars decelerates the traffic already. But now you also have minibuses on 3 lanes that go from the fast lane to the far right and the other way around all the time just because there is a single person standing on the side of the road.
This way there can be no flow in Bogota's traffic. The fun part is still to come. Most of the time the bus that goes left is not even the bus the person wants. How should bus drivers know? They have to guess.
That is why I propose the following solution only until the city of Bogota introduces their changes of course. The goverment should hand out signs with numbers on them. A sign for every bus line. This way people could show the bus drivers which bus they are waiting for.
I think I will never forget this trip to the monastery. If you can avoid Bogota's rush hour, do it. Although I am not even sure if this was rush hour as it was 8pm when I hopped onto the bus. So only 2 and a half hours later (a route that normally takes 45 mins) my driver mumbles the words monasterio aqui and i step out of the bus and into the night.
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