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

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Tags: Public Transportation In Haiti

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