At first sight these school buses may look horrifying, like miniature cattle wagons full of children. But they are a feature of a type of culture that is different from America where yellow school buses shuttle children often over large distances.
This culture is one that has grown organically, where distances are short enough to be cycled and where homebrew transportation is common.
3 comment(s):
Sometimes we don't even realize how good we have it here in North America...
There is nothing horrifying about those buses. They look fun.
"This culture is one that has grown organically, where distances are short enough to be cycled and where homebrew transportation is common."
Don't try to weasel iyt if it on distance. The paucity of good schools in many areas of India means that the pupils may have to travel miles to get to school and those strange contraptions do travel surprising distances.
The trouble with the affluent west is that most people see any distance above a block as being too far to cycle or walk. We and our kids are too lazy to have it any other way. Many view as deviants those who choose to travel under their own power.
The amusing thing is that many westerners will drive miles to get a gym, where they will work out on a treadmill or an excercise bike. Better yet are the people you see carrying bicycles on their roof rack, driving fifty miles in order to cycle ten for the sake of fitness. Why not cycle the fifty miles and the ten and get really fit? Don't claim that riding in traffic is dangerous and you need to drive out of town to cycle. Cycling in cities like Mumbai is way more dangerous, but more people cycle there than in any US city.
Trasport like this cycle bus is actually evidence of a shift in eastern thinking. People don't want their kids to walk to school any more, but a school bus is probably too big and expensive to be practical.
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