Riding the Bus

Riding the Bus here is Buenos Aires is an experience. There are two options one faces when about to board one of the buses here, known as collectivos. It is either crowded or half-empty.

If you are lucky, there are not very many people on the bus and you can even get a seat.

If you are unlucky or catch the bus at the time when everyone is going home, you face the Crowded Bus. The Crowded Bus is something out of claustrophobic's nightmare. You get on, tell the bus driver where you are going, pay your fare, receive your bus stub, and then face the crowd. You are expected to move to at least the middle of the bus, or back if you prefer. This involves a lot of murmurs of "perdoname" and squeezing past the people, your bag leading the way. ( An important feature of riding the bus is that if you have a backpack, you put the bag in front of you, like a baby sling, to prevent thievery. The same goes to your purse or messenger bag or whatever bag-like object you have.)

While you are squeezing past people, the bus has already been moving, which is often an erratic ride. Hence, a lot of the times, one has to grab ahold of the bars above or in front of you as the bus lurches forward. When you do find a spot to stand, you are usually squished in between two-three-four people. Just when you think relief has come because the bus lurches to the curb to drop off passengers, more people crowd the bus. It is an like a choreographed dance, where you move a little this way, hold on to this bar, let someone sidle past, grab onto the bar again, almost bump into the person next to you because of the driving, actually bump into another person, shuffle into a new space, grab a new bar to hold on to...the dance goes on. The only respite you have is when you get off or your stop is near the end of the line, which usually means less people. All the while, you have to keep one eye peeled as to where the bus is and where your stop is. The bus stops are not announced and one has to know by sight by either memorization or looking at the street signs as they flow by. All in all, it is a very unique experience.