Public Transportation In Haiti

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Haitian Tap Taps: Hand Painted Buses in Haiti

When you travel to Haiti, you will be introcuded to the Haitian Tap Tap... A tap tap is beautifully decorated hand painted bus or pick-up truck that serves as a share taxi by the in Haiti.

Tap taps are used in Haiti mainly by locals because visitors to Haiti are warned by their host countries not to ride on tap taps due to overcrowding and stuff.

You should see the taxis in the Dominican Republic! LOL...

The Dominicans can fit 6 passengers plus the driver in an old beat-up Toyota Corolla!

Hey... You can always get a taxi all to yourself in Haiti but if you want to mingle with the super friendly Haitian people and save some money at the same time, hop in a tap tap.

Why Haitian Tap Tap Owners Spend So Much To Paint Them

Some buses in Haiti are painted with giant figures, portraits of Jesus, rapper Tupac Shakur, Barack Obame, a naked woman in ecstasy. Others depict American Airlines planes or Voodoo imagery.

If you stand on any corner in Port-au-Prince and watch the buses go by, you feel like you can get direct access to the Haitian subconscious.

But there's an economic puzzle buried in all the artistry.

All of this painting is really expensive... So why do the Haitian Tap Tap owners do it?

"If you don't paint it like that, people will not get on it," a bus driver says.

Fresh painting sends potential passengers a signal: Whoever owns this bus spends a lot of money taking care of it...

Read the article in full at npr.org