Buses- P3

As part of my job, I spend a lot of time on buses. I enjoy riding in buses because it gives me ample time to observe the mannerisms of Dakaroise and different areas of Dakar. To get into and out of the city I take the same bus, the P3, which is a small white bus with about 20 seats. Of course, about 50 people try to pile into the bus at any given time. We all squish in, bodies pressed against each other, while some people hang out of the door on the stairs in order to fit. The P3 bus travels on major roads except in the area of Ouakam where it turns onto an unpaved road and makes a U around a central market.

When there is a baptism, wedding, or funeral, people who live in that “quartier” erect large white tents in the middle of the road. Under these huge tents are hundreds of plastic chairs in various colors and a bunch of plastic tables. When the party is not raging, the chairs are stacked in the middle of the tent surrounded by the tables. Therefore, when the tents are up, the bus cannot pass. Sometimes this means the bus has to turn around on a busy street, which takes several minutes, or it can mean completely changing the normal bus route. I imagine that there are people who don’t realize that the bus won’t stop at the usual bus stop and they wait and wait for a longtime for a phantom bus. When the bus just turns around and goes back down the street, it causes confusion since people logically assume that it’s the return bus instead of a bus blocked by a funeral, wedding, etc, so they board only to discover that they are headed in the wrong direction. Screaming and insulting ensues.

Also in Senegal, a news and politics obsessed country, people will hold up the bus in order to purchase a newspaper out of the window. The scene goes as follows: a person will spot someone selling newspapers. He or she will flag down the vendor and name the paper they desire. The vendor will quickly search in his or her stack of newspapers to find the right one. Then the buyer will riffle through his or her pockets or bag to find money. Following an awkward exchange, the transaction is complete. However, most of the time, when this occurs downtown or in a crowded area, the bus won’t stop, making the vendor chase after the bus, arms outstretched in preparation for the exchange. It becomes dangerous when there is a lot of traffic (no one stays in their lane) and the chase lasts several seconds.

What baffles me is that if the bus is in a residential area or there is little traffic, the bus will stop in order for the newspaper to be purchased. The entire bus has to wait for the transaction to be complete. As an aside, these buses also stop for gas while full of passengers. Anyway, paradoxically, many times the bus driver does not wait long enough for people to get off of the bus at any given stop. Many people end up jumping from the bus in order to get out. This excludes when there is an elderly person or someone who cannot physically jump, since the bus will wait for them to properly descend. I have watched many an old (or very large) woman with a million plastic bags and buckets filed with goods to sell, take her sweet time getting off the bus. Everyone pitches in to help her gather her packages (baggage) and get off the bus. Yet, when a strapping young man wants to leave, he has to jump. I have had to jump on several occasions and it was exhilarating. One time I jumped at an inappropriate time because I missed my stop. The person who collects the bus fare screamed, “Madame! Madame! Arret!”

Don’t get me started on bus etiquette or the seating arrangements on these buses because this post will never end. Basically, on a bus in Dakar you have to be aggressive. You have to fight to get on, fight to get a seat, fight to get off. In the end you probably elbow, step on, or hit someone in order to get a little room. Fin bref.