The Road to Leogane

I've been meaning to post this entry on public transportation in Haiti for a while now.  However, events which transpired today have caused me to modify this post a little bit.  Most Haitians rely on the crude form of public transportation.  There are two basic forms of transportation: the Tap Taps and the MotoTaxis.

Haitian Tap Tap

The Haitian Tap Tap is a modified pickup truck with seating.  A couple planks of wood line the bed of the truck to form the seats.  Usually there is a cover over the top to shade the passengers and the tail gate is removed.  Usually to accommodate additional passengers, steps will be added to the back to allow riders to stand and hold onto the back and ride.  I am told most of the drivers of these Tap Taps rent the vehicles for a day, and basically just drive around town.  There's no set of predetermined routes for the drivers, but most of them have a routine they follow (probably because they know where the business is).  

Oftentimes, these trucks spew black oily smoke.  It's always a headache to get caught behind one of these things, especially when we're riding in the bed of our own truck.  Clearly these are not the safest mode of transit.  Before Tommy left, he recalled seeing a crash site where two Tap Taps collided.  It was reported that 9 people died in the collision and 16 were injured.  On a less tragic note, I saw firsthand a Tap Tap struggling to climb a hill.  The driver made all the passengers exit, then proceeded to climb the hill.  The passengers had to run behind until they reached the summit.  The were then allowed to reenter and resume their commute.

MotoTaxi

The other major form of transportation is the MotoTaxi.  These are dirtbikes with an additional seat added to the back for a passenger (or two, or three).  Its a much more direct route of travel, as opposed to the Tap Tap (much like a personal taxi versus a bus in the States or Europe), but it is also much more dangerous.

I went to Leogane today with Darren and some of the University of Minnesota students.  Darren had a meeting and I was to show everyone the site.  Highway 2 which connects Port-au-Prince to Leogane was hard hit by the earthquake.  You can see the cracks and bumps where the earth shifted beneath.  Like much of Haiti, it has yet to see any repair.  That unfortunately does not dissuade people from slowing down however.  On the way back we were slowed by a roadblock.  As we approached, we could see that it was an accident.  I could see the front end of a Tap Tap smashed in and a crumpled MotoTaxi on the side of the road.  "He's dead" our driver said.  "He's dead."  I looked to the side of the road and saw the Taxi driver, blood coming from his mouth.  We rode the rest of the way back in silence.

We are not allowed to use any of the public transportation.  George the architect says he sees a person killed in a Tap Tap once a week.  We are very fortunate Architecture for Humanity provides us with three excellent drivers.  Ronald, Patrick and Isnard are our drivers and they all do their jobs well.  It takes a lot of pressure off of Eric and the rest of us.  It does limit our mobility, but we gladly exchange it for safety.