Hispaniola Spanish Language School

What about public transportation in Dominican Republic? 4/10

Long time from the last article! I have been busy dealing with economic situation so my writing skills&ideas were even poorer than the normal.

New year..new hope..but not many changes in transportation in DR. Below we finally start to explain (or try to ..) about urban mass transportation, with particular reference about Santo Domingo city.

Guaguas and Voladoras

Guaguas (often called voladoras) are found throughout Metropolitan Santo Domingo.  They make more stops and are less comfortable than the big buses (see OMSA, below). Often there are not really enough seats for the number of passengers, who are squished tightly together in order to fit in more people; Dominicans are accustomed to this, but it might make you uncomfortable. This kind of transportation is not strictly organized, either. There are few fixed bus stops. Just wave your arms or otherwise signal from the street when you wish to board.  To get off, you often must scream over the wind noise coming in through the windows to make it understood that you want to bajar (get off). Note that a guagua’s ¨crew¨ is usually a chofer (driver) and cobrador. The cobrador is the one responsible for packing passengers in as tightly as possible so as to accommodate more, and he collects the fares.  He is also the one who hangs out the door (with amazing acrobatic skill) yelling out the route, trying to entice as many passengers aboard as possible. If passengers have luggage, he finds room for it, too, sometimes even on the roof, hanging onto it with one hand. When there´s heavy traffic, the cobrador acts as a policeman, directing cars to clear the route, and if any problems arise between two or more passengers or with the driver, he immediately becomes judge and jury. Taking this cheaper kind of transportation can be a fun or frustrating experience, depending on your point of view.

OMSA

Urban service is also offered by OMSA, a state-owned company with some important differences from the normal guaguas—OMSA has large buses, fixed stops, longer routes, and cheaper prices, but they are very crowded. OMSA offer also an Expreso service: same buses but with a/c and lower number of stops than normal ones..it also costs something more.

This time I have to cut the article very quickly. Next argument will be the Metro of Santo Domingo, a brand new mass transportation that deserve some more time and attention. I do not have all the details I need, so I will take my time to study it and give you some relevant information.

(to be continued…)