Perils of Public Transportation

                I think I had sex today.  Then again, I am convinced I have sex every time I ride the rail lines in Sao Paulo.  To say that forms of transportation in the city are congested is an understatement on par with, “There is corn in Nebraska.”  The trains, subway cars and busses in the city can get so crowded that it is not uncommon to grab the nearest arm, leg or ass to keep yourself from falling over.  Once the vehicle jerks forward or stutters to a stop, it ceases to be a commute and changes into an endeavor not to molest your fellow passengers.  However, getting around Sao Paulo is not just a rated G orgy.

                 Moving around Sao Paulo is great.  Even while congested to the point of feeling like a sardine in a tin, you can get anywhere in the city fairly expediently using one of many forms of transportation.  As they usually are; busses, trains, subways, motos and, if you can control your road rage, cars are all decent ways of getting a commuter from A to B. 

                The best part of moving around the city is that it is affordable.  When used with an electronic fair card, the public transportation network costs R$2.90, the equivalent to about US$ 1.50.  A rider can jump on and off any of the subway routes, train lines or busses for the next three hours for no additional charge while using that card.  Are you reading this WMATA? 

                By far the speediest and most effective way to get around this city is the motos.  These little bikes tear between the cars and busses, narrowly missing side view mirrors whilst leaning on their high pitched horns.  I think that the motorists often believe they are in a movie instead of real life.  Without a doubt, motos are responsible for the most traffic related deaths and accidents in Sao Paulo.  A fact that I have personally been witness to while stuck in a traffic jam on the highway. 

As my car rolled by a mangled bike, the ground littered with shards of metal and plastic, a white tarp covered the motorist’s lifeless body; his feet ominously sticking out from underneath.   I am told by many that this is not an unfamiliar site to bear witness to.  Many even seem desensitized of the site to the point where all it merits is a “tisk-tisk” or a shrug of the shoulders.

You can go anywhere.

                If risking your neck, quite literally, on motos is not your thing, the subway and trains with the use of your legs are exceptional ways to get around.  All of the trains interconnect frequently.  Many lines intersect one another at a station just to cross again two stations later and then again at the end of the line’s routes.  Check out the map; the word “extensive” does not do it justice. 

                The busses are also an excellent form of moving around.  According to the Lonely Planet’s guide book South America on a Shoe String, there are 1,333 bus routes in the main city itself.  The City of Sao Paulo’s website claims that there are “almost” 10,000 busses in service to transport people around the city per day.  Also, busses are fast, very fast.  My first ride on a bus felt more like a rollercoaster without seatbelts than it did a ride to the museum.  The driver hopped curbs, grated to halts and put the pedal to the metal on onramps, all the while as the old man standing next to me nonchalantly read his book.

This bus is actually rather empty...really.

                Last week during a rainy rush hour morning, a bus drove off an overpass and crashed into a train on the tracks below.  On a train line that I had just used an hour before.  The train’s conductor managed to pull the brakes in time and avoid annihilating the bus, thus avoiding any fatalities.  The passengers told news agencies that the driver was driving fast, the driver claims the road was slippery.  Here is an article pertaining to it.

Sky News Article about the bus on the tracks-Complete with video and pictures, click here.

                The public transportation system is not without its problems.  Along with an occasional flying bus, it can get crowded, as mentioned before.  In a city of 20 million though, what is one to expect?  I once observed a security guard help close a packed train car’s door by pushing on a guy until the door stopped closing on his arm and legs. 

Space is not easy to come by during rush hour.  Forget waiting for the people to get off the train when the car pulls into the station because of this.  If you want on, you better charge those getting off while throwing up an elbow to the others doing the same.  Don’t worry, as long as you aren’t stiff arming grandma no one seems to mind.

                Crime is also another problem that riders have to watch out for.  As you board a train or bus with your backpack, make sure you are wearing it on your chest or set it down between your legs.  You want to be able to see whose hands may be trying to pry open your zippers.  I personally go with the backpack on the chest, hand in the pocket along with the kung-fu death grip on my wallet method. 

                But you can’t let the negative aspects of transportation get to you.  No matter what country or city you are in.  How else will you see the museums, picnic in the parks or drink at the bars?  As well as moving you around a city, public transportation is a great way to take a few selfish moments and contemplate the day.

                On my daily train commutes, I use my 20 minute ride as a moment of Zen.  I have no control how fast the car moves nor can I change its path.  The ever-changing scenery passes by serenely to the click-clacking of the wheels on the tracks; bringing an irrepressible smirk to my face.  For those 20 minutes, everyone on the train, no matter who they may be, have no control of where they are going.  So they might as well just accept the fact that we are all on the same ride together, even if only for a little bit.  Just make sure you shower before you ride please.