Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Space Is At A Premium

I've mentioned previously how Moroccan taxi drivers jam passengers into their taxis. Two in the front passenger seat. Four in the backseat, which would seat three in the US. During my travels in taxis in the past week, I've once again experienced such cramped traveling spaces. However, last week I think I might have been more impressed during my trip back into Marrakech from my friend and fellow PCV's town. On the return trip back into the city, I caught a ride in a transit van (which the locals shorten to "transit," and which they pronounce with a French accent, as "transeet." The other transit passengers and I weren't partly sitting on top of each other like we would have been doing had we been riding in a grand taxi. I was just impressed by how they fit so many of us into the van. Although the van was so crowded that it was difficult for me to get a clear view so that I could accurately count how many people were in the van, I was pretty sure that there were at least 20 adults, including the driver and me, and 3 kids younger than 10 years old in the van.

After I'd arrived in Marrakech and gotten out of the van, I thought about how jam-packed grand taxis and transit vans are here. I compared transportation phenomena here with those in the US. It made me consider that while people in the US might consider a certain vehicle as being full, others elsewhere in the world might not view it the same way. It depends on your perspective.

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