The Wheels on the Bus . . .

We are car-less here, so we rely on public transportation (or walk). Taxis are insanely cheap, but they are terrifying. The drivers, without fail, exceed every posted speed limit (I think our last taxi driver topped out at 95 mph in town), and like most Chinese drivers, take road rules as mere suggestions. I've even seen several cars driving on sidewalks. Not many taxis have seat belts, either. Because I am a weenie, I've pretty much avoided taxis and take the public buses instead.

Taking the bus in China -- as in the U.S. -- can be many things: boring, exciting, amusing, disgusting, sometimes all at once. They're always a good place to do some people watching, though, and get a sense of how many different kinds of 'locals' there are here. It seems that a big cross-section of the community rides the bus, although this seems likely to change as cars become more popular.

A couple of things about the bus:

1. None of the signs are in English, and there's rarely even Pinyin. So, we've memorized the bus numbers that take us to important places (like school). I know, for example, that if I take the no. 10 from downtown, I'll eventually get home.

2. You have to flag down the buses, even at the bus stop. They sort of slow down as they approach the stops (and they stop if they're letting someone off), but they don't actually stop unless you stick your arm out and wave them down. I find that my new silver and orange striped umbrella helps with this process.

3. When you're on the bus and want to signal a stop, you have to walk to the back of the bus (where the rear doors are) and push a tiny red button to signal your intent to the driver. When the buses are empty, this isn't a big deal (if your balance is good). When the bus is full, you have to burrow your way to the back and hope to hell you make it before the driver passes your stop). Also, once the bus stops, it helps if you leap from the bus to the sidewalk rather than carefully step from the bus, as the drivers tend to basically tap the breaks by way of stopping; no wasted time. And you have to be on the lookout for bicycles and mopeds as you exit the bus because they drive on sidewalk and do not yield to pedestrians (no one yields to pedestrians).

4. Air conditioned buses cost 1 yuan more than non-airconditioned buses. The air-conditioned buses have closed windows and a picture of a snowflake next to the bus number. I have a bus pass, so until it runs out, I don't even have to worry about exact change.

5. You can take pretty much anything you want on the bus. The other day, the floor of the bus was flooded from a woman's shopping bag. Seems she had a live fish from the market in it and had filled the bag with water to keep it alive until she got home. Bag had a leak. Yesterday, I hauled a roll of chicken wire home on the bus. And last week, I watched an old women, wearing pearls and no shoes, shell a bag of chestnuts. China also has its share of people who sleep on the bus. Given how noisy it is, I have no idea how they do it.

6. You can't exit from the front of the bus. If you try to, the bus driver yells at you (guess how I know this).

8. Even though the bus drivers drive like maniacs (just like the taxi drivers), the buses feel safer. At least in an accident we'll be the squashers and not the squashee.