Chicken Bus Controversy in Panama

It is something I have always known but has become more obvious since I have started traveling.  There are two (or three or four) sides to every story, especially those that provoke some controversy. Travelers tell stories about the things they hear in other countries.  And these stories tend to be based on one statement given by some other traveler who spent a week or two in the country.  Often that other traveler actually heard the story from someone else, probably someone they had just met.  Usually the story contains exaggerations about crime or generalizations about the culture, but sometimes it is actually about something interesting.

I was in El Salvador the first time I heard about the chicken bus transition going on in Panama.  The chicken buses in Panama City are called diablos rojos, which translates to “red devils.”  They are old US school buses that were bought at salvage value and brought through the Free Trade Zone of Colon, Panama.  A traveler from France shared the story about the chicken bus transition, and I was impressed because Gabriel had actually done some research, even meeting with a government official in the transportation department to learn more about their plans. He had an idea for a project to show the transformation of Panama City through public transport, to present the whole economical system working around the diablos rojos which constitute a kind of cultural patrimony of Panama City.

So what is the controversy?

The Panamanian government is going to do away with the chicken bus system and replace it with a new, modern bus system called Metrobus.  One concern is the number of jobs that will be lost.  Another concern is the loss of an important part of the Panamanian culture. In the current chicken bus system, the buses are all individually owned.  And if you’ve ever been to Panama, you know that the buses are much more “pimped out” than in the rest of Central America, which is how they got their name diablos rojos.  Impressive artwork covers the exterior of the buses, and these paintings are cultural expressions, many depicting famous artists such as Jennifer Lopez or local famous figures such as presidents and athletes.   Many buses have flashing lights adorning the front.  Some buses even have spoilers, circular domes, or fins on the top.

It is quite a sight to see the diablos rojos rolling through downtown Panama City amidst the sky rises and BMWs. It is a whole profession in Panama, pimping out chicken buses and then touching up the paint jobs. The reason for this adornment is to attract clients.  If you had an option to ride in a boring yellow school bus or a school bus sporting fins on top, colorful lights in the front, and a professional graffiti-style paint job, which would you choose?  So with the new system, there will be some impact to jobs.  And of course, the iconic diablo rojo and the creativity it displays will be lost.

But there is another side to this story.

About 40 years ago, the government of Panama deregulated the bus transportation system, and that lack of regulation has led to some issues.  I mentioned that the buses are individually owned, but do not think that the drivers actually own them.  In fact, the owners are usually the elite of the country (e.g. judges, legislators).  The owners decide how much money they with get each day from the bus, and the drivers get whatever is left.  This has created a system where the drivers are encouraged to do whatever they can to get more passengers on the bus in a day.  Yes, pimping out the buses is one of their tactics.  But another tactic involves driving really fast and recklessly to get as many passengers to their destinations as quickly as possible.  And, unfortunately, some of the passengers encourage the unsafe driving because they want to take the bus that will get them to their destination faster.   People have actually been run over in the streets due to the carelessness of bus drivers.

Another major impact of an unregulated transportation system is a lack of oversight and standards for the safety and maintenance of the buses.  This has resulted in numerous injuries and deaths to passengers or others sharing the road.  Sometimes wheels fall off.  Sometimes the guy who paints the bus actually paints the emergency door shut.  In addition, the buses are pollution machines, spouting black smoke all over the increasingly crowded city.  And on much more minor note, routes and schedules are not consistent between buses, and routes are not the most efficient.  On most buses, there is a guy hanging out the door yelling the route of the bus.  He is known as el pavo which literally translates as “the turkey.”  Do you really need the turkey if you have real bus routes?

Of course I have only done rudimentary research on the topic and do not have all the facts nor do I have more than a handful of opinions from Panamanians who live with the current system, but I do lean towards the side of the Metrobus.  With regular inspections and safety and maintenance standards, buses should be safer for passengers and other motorists.  Bus routes will be optimized for efficiency, and maybe one day it will be possible to actually get a printed or online bus schedule.  Bus drivers will be certified and will receive a consistent, fair wage.  Current bus drivers and mechanics will have the opportunity to be part of the new system with job training and certification programs.

One thing that has struck me about traveling in Latin America is how little concern there seems to be for transportation safety. Sure, we travelers will miss the excitement of seeing our first diablo rojo whizzing down the streets of Panama City and trying to figure out which bus to take based on the unintelligible Spanish the dude hanging out the door is yelling at us.  But I will trade that for safety and reliability any day.

More Facts About the Transition

• Transporte Masivo de Panama, a Panamanian-Colombian consortium, won a 15-year contract to operate Panama City’s bus rapid transit (BRT) system Metrobus.
• The Metrobus system will replace a total of 3,000 diablos rojos in Panama City, all of which WERE expected to begin working by June 2011.  Note that the implementation is now expected to take longer due to delays with getting the new buses, finding qualified drivers, and training.  As of April 2011, more than 50% of the diablos rojos routes have been replaced by Metrobus.
• A ride on a diablo rojo costs 25 cents (they use US dollars in Panama), and the new Metrobus will cost 45 cents for most routes and up to 75 cents if the bus uses the tollway.

Check out these promotional videos for the new Metrobus system. They are in Spanish, but the point comes across whether or not you understand the language.

http://vimeo.com/7620772 (1 minute)

http://vimeo.com/7620884 (5 minutes)