Being without a vehicle, we have experienced all types of other modes of transportation. The bus system is, shall we say, irregular. Each bus is very different: some are from Germany, some are from Korea, and some are from places that were too ashamed to give their names. Some are fairly large (like Canadian busses) and some are very small (the size of larger vans). In most cases you have no interaction with the bus driver; each bus has a conductor-type person who calls out the door the names of the places the bus is travelling to. This person is also responsible for taking the bus fares -- and they even give change! Neither the bus driver nor the conductor wear any kind of clothing that would help you distinguish them as such, but the conductor is the one calling out street names and usually wears a "fanny pack" to carry the money, while the driver is, of course, driving the bus!There's also trolley busses here hooked to overhead lines; occasionally they come off the lines and the driver has to jump out and fix it with a long metal pole. The busses have all kinds of odd seating arrangements, curtains, decorations, music, smells, etc., but the most notable feature is the number of people they can jam into them. I've often heard of other places where the busses are stuffed to overflowing, but this is the first time I've actually experienced the policy of "there's always room for one more". The kids call it a pancake bus, and it does feel as though you are receiving internal damage as yet another group of people are being pushed onto the bus. And carrying a backpack or a stroller makes things really interesting! For the most part, however, the people are very patient and somehow it all works out, but there have a few times of panic when we need to get off at the next stop and we just can't seem to wiggle our way to the door. We've had to learn a few phrases to aid us in our endeavours: mozhna ("may I?") and eezvineetya ("excuse me")!
They also have an informal taxi fleet consisting of absolutely anybody who feels like picking someone up! You just stand on the side of the road with your hand slightly extended outward and when someone stops (which does nothing for the traffice flow behind them!) you tell them where you want to go, they accept or decline, and then you negotiate a price. So far we have not quite felt comfortable enough to try it out on our own.
