Taxi Be (Local Bus) Adventures

I have a love/hate relationship with the Tana bus system. I take the bus from where I live in Ambohibao to Antananarivo every Monday and Friday. A little background about Madagascar roads - there is usually only one two-lane road that will get you to where you want to go. No highways, no traffic lights, no detours. And this one road is shared by busses and cars with lots of motorcycles and scooters weaving in and out. There is always traffic. It’s the worst early in the morning and at 4 o'clock - but there’s still traffic at 8pm too. And if there’s an accident or something blocking the road - you will sit. For 4 hours sometimes. And tell yourself you are literally never getting home (I did eventually after a lot of self pep talks). The bus is also not a big, comfy bus like in the States. You enter through the back and if it’s full, you are handed a plank of wood to balance between the two aisle seats to make another row. It’s basically just another row of jump seats but it’s wood and sometimes you fall if you don’t balance it right (oops). More often than not - things just don’t go the way I expect them too. 

One time, I managed to get the front seat of the bus (which is the best because it’s less crowded  and a window seat and you can see out the front). The driver was playing reggae and I was jammin’. After we’d been driving for about 20 minutes, he pulled over and said something in Malagasy and everyone poured out of the bus. I had no idea what was going on - and then he handed me my money back and motioned for me to exit the vehicle. I panicked - because I had no idea where we were and didn’t know what to do. I quickly calmed myself down and decided to follow my fellow passengers until I figured out a plan. We walked for about a minute on the side of the road and then everyone stopped. I realized that we had walked to a new bus stop, and then I followed the guy in front of me into a different bus that was going into Tana. The new bus didn’t have reggae and was way more crowded - but I happily arrived in Tana 50 minutes later. 

Another time, it was pouring down rain the entire ride home from Tana to Ambohibao. We arrived at the Jovenna, a gas station about two miles from where I live. I thought he was just filling up the tank, but then everyone got out of  the bus. I sat there and just stared at the bus driver. He said some things to me in French, I told him I spoke English, and then he said “it finished.” One of my friends told me that sometimes the bus turns around early instead of finishing the entire route if traffic is bad because they will make more money turning around and getting new passengers than sitting in traffic. I realized that’s exactly what was happening here. I sighed and exited the bus into the POURING down rain. I knew my options were to walk 30 minutes home in the pouring down rain with no umbrella or to wait for another bus (also in the pouring down rain). I decided I would wait for 10 minutes and then call it quits and just walk. I was feeling pretty defeated and mad at the entire situation. Why are they allowed to just decide they’re not taking people to where they’re supposed to? Right when I was about to call it quits, another bus pulled up. I was SO relieved and so proud of myself for remaining calm and sticking it out. It almost made the surprise change up worth it. 

There is never a dull moment with the Tana bus system. It has challenged me and tested my patience and ruined my day. But it has also given me the freedom of movement - and I love the opportunity to be still, look out the window, and take it all in. Rain or shine, traffic or clear roads, front seat or jump-seat in the middle - I always get to where I need to go eventually, and I pick up some laughs, sighs, and good stories along the way.