Bus transport in Central America is a major mode of transport and important in commerce in the area, as personal automobiles and rail transport are less common than in some wealthy nations.
The buses are often called by the Spanish terms "camioneta" or "trambilla", the latter a hypercorrection of "tranvía". The buses are sometimes modified and colorfully decorated. They transport goods and people between communities in various Central American countries — especially Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. In the latter country, buses are also known as Diablos Rojos (lit. Red Devils). [1]
The base vehicle is usually retired North American school buses or on light/medium cowl truck chassis (with windshield) — primarily Nissan Diesel. In Panama, the base vehicle can also be a passenger Toyota HiAce or Toyota Coaster or similar and is often left painted white. If a Toyota Coaster is used — the bus is known locally as a "Chiva" and if a Toyota HiAce is used — the van is called a "busito" instead.
Some English speaking tourists call buses "chicken buses". The word "chicken" may refer to the fact that the buses are often crammed with passengers not unlike a truck load of chickens, [2] or to the fact that Central Americans occasionally transport live animals on such buses—a practice that visitors from other countries often find remarkable. [3] [4] The term "Chicken bus" is not used by locals, and some consider it offensive [5]
A typical bus features two young men who partner to operate the bus. One with a license takes the role the driver, while the other takes the role of ayudante or "helper" to customer service issues. The ayudante is responsible for passengers and luggage, collecting money, and organizing the suitcases, livestock, produce, etc. onto the roof of the bus–often while in motion. Loudly announcing destinations the bus is reaching is also a responsibility.
Some buses sport vibrant paint including the bus's name and permanent route. Religious imagery and verbiage is also common. Typically, bus operators seek to maximize profit by onboarding as many passengers as possible while driving to destinations at top speed. Some countries, such as Nicaragua, subsidize buses and establish maximum prices, which often end up being the de facto price for the route. Unlike most bus drivers in Europe, Central American bus operators are usually self-employed or members of cooperatives who use fares to cover expenses.
In Panama, these kind of buses are more commonly known as "Buses piratas" (pirate buses) since they are considered by the government to be illegal. There have been cases of buses piratas being operated without adequate driver's license. Some operators use smaller buses that don't require such a special or more expensive license. Smaller buses tend to be more fuel efficient which can increase profits considerably. These kind of buses were supposed to be phased out by 2012 and replaced by official "Metro Bus" transport.
However, buses piratas continue to operate in Panama due to popular demand after the official "Metro Bus" system suffered from negative perceptions of infrequent buses being too overcrowded during peak hours. These unofficial bus services have been declared illegal by the Panamanian government and the private import of North American-style buses was banned, yet efforts to stop this system of transport have nonetheless been met with little success.
Most transportation in Cape Verde is done by air. There are regular flights between the major islands, with less frequent flights to the other islands. Boat transportation is available, though not widely used nor dependable. In the major cities, public bus transport runs periodically, and taxis are common. In smaller towns, there are mostly hiaces and/or taxis.
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually defined as consisting of seven countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. Within Central America is the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, which extends from southern Mexico to southeastern Panama. Due to the presence of several active geologic faults and the Central America Volcanic Arc, there is a high amount of seismic activity in the region, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, which has resulted in death, injury, and property damage.
Transport in Nicaragua revolves around road, air and water transport modalities.
Central America is commonly said to include Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. This definition matches modern political borders. Central America begins geographically in Mexico, at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico's narrowest point, and the former country of Yucatán (1841–1848) was part of Central America. At the other end, before its independence in 1903 Panama was part of South America, as it was a Department of Colombia. At times Belize, a British colony until 1981, where English instead of Spanish is spoken, and where the population is primarily of African origin, has been considered not part of (Spanish-speaking) Central America.
A share taxi, shared taxi, taxibus, or jitney or dollar van in the US, or marshrutka in former Soviet countries, is a mode of transport which falls between a taxicab and a bus. Share taxis are a form of paratransit. They are vehicles for hire and are typically smaller than buses. Share taxis usually take passengers on a fixed or semi-fixed route without timetables, sometimes only departing when all seats are filled. They may stop anywhere to pick up or drop off their passengers. They are most common in developing countries and inner cities.
A jeepney, or simply a jeep, is a type of public utility vehicle (PUV) that serves as the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. Known for its crowded seating and kitsch decorations, it is a cultural icon of the Philippines and has its own art, "Jeepney art". At the 1964 New York World's Fair, a Sarao jeepney was exhibited in the Philippine pavilion as a national symbol for Filipinos.
A minibus, microbus, or minicoach is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is used to describe any full-sized passenger-carrying van or panel truck. Minibuses have a seating capacity of between 12 and 30. Larger minibuses may be called midibuses. Minibuses are typically front engine step-in vehicles, although low floor minibuses are particularly common in Japan.
Pollo Campero is a Guatemalan fast-food restaurant chain, located in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica,Nicaragua, Panama, Ecuador, Mexico, Spain, Bahrain, the United States, Puerto Rico, Belize, Haiti, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Brazil, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Italy. The chain has nearly 400 locations, including more than 100 in the United States.
Central American Spanish is the general name of the Spanish language dialects spoken in Central America. More precisely, the term refers to the Spanish language as spoken in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Panamanian Spanish is considered a variety of Caribbean Spanish, it is transitional between Central American and Caribbean dialects.
Taxicabs within a country often share common properties, but there is a wide variation from country to country in the vehicles used, the circumstances under which they may be hired and the regulatory regime to which these are subject.
The Toyota Coaster is a single-decker minibus produced by Toyota Motor Corporation. It was introduced in 1969, with the second generation introduced in 1982, followed by the third generation in 1992 and the fourth generation in late 2016. In Japan, the Coaster is sold exclusively at Toyota Store dealerships. Since 1996, the Toyota Coaster is also sold under the name Hino Liesse II.
Central America is a subregion of the Americas formed by six Latin American countries and one (officially) Anglo-American country, Belize. As an isthmus it connects South America with the remainder of mainland North America, and comprises the following countries : Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.
Rail transport in Central America consists of several isolated railroad lines with freight or passenger service. The most famous one is the Panama Canal Railway, the oldest transcontinental railroad in the world, connecting Panama City with Colón since 1855. Other railroads in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama were built by private and public investors mainly to facilitate the transport of local agricultural produce to export markets and harbors. Their market share and profitability went into decline in the second half of the twentieth century and most lines have been decommissioned by the end of the 1990s. As of 2018, railroads operate locally in Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama only; all rail transport has been suspended in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. The railways still operating do not cross national borders.
A chiva or escalera is an artisan rustic bus used in rural Colombia and Ecuador. Chivas are adapted to rural public transport, especially considering the mountainous geography of the Andean region of these countries.
This is an index of Central America-related articles. This index defines Central America as the seven nations of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The western Caribbean zone is a region consisting of the Caribbean coasts of Central America and Colombia, from the Yucatán Peninsula in southern Mexico to the Caribbean region in northern Colombia, and the islands west of Jamaica are also included. The zone emerged in the late sixteenth century as the Spanish failed to completely conquer many sections of the coast, and northern European powers supported opposition to Spain, sometimes through alliances with local powers.
The public light bus (PLB) or minibus is a public transport service in Hong Kong. It uses minibuses to provide quicker transport and to serve areas that standard Hong Kong bus lines cannot reach as efficiently. The vehicles are colloquially known by the code-switch Van仔.
Utility Vehicle (UV) Express is a license to operate utility vehicles, particularly vans, as an alternative mode of public transportation in the Philippines. The term also refers to the vehicles themselves. This is one of the two types of share taxi services in the Philippines with the bus-like Jeepney. There is new law about transport franchising and formation of Transport Cooperatives through the government office of the Cooperative Development authority as part of the government’s modernization program.
The following lists events that happened during 2020 in Central America: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
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