Transportation in India is becoming a serious problem. Not much in villages but more in populated cities. We all know India has a population of over a billion, so how do people go places in such a populated areas? The secret is in it's public transportation.
In villages, people ride on bicycles or motorbikes. Sometimes, that's all they can afford. If they have to go far, they take the bus or train. Not everyone needs a car like people in the U.S. All the stores are a walkable distance, so you don't need to get in a car to go shopping. It's actually extremely convenient to have stores at a walkable distance. If you live in bigger towns or cities, a motorbike is more common than a car, but people are getting use to cars now.
I took this picture in a village, and remember how I said that there are so many animals on the roads? Yea... literally, there are animals walking on the roads. Pretty cool huh? They become a nuisance if there are too many on the road and they refuse to get off. Once, we were driving and a large herd of cows were crossing the road. The cows completely blocked the cars on both sides of the road. It was something i've never seen before. There was another instance where a cow just stopped in the middle of the road. That was a little chaotic because there was a lot of honking involved. The vehicles were going around it but the poor cow was stuck in the middle. That's how hectic the roads can get...Welcome to India guys. In order to be an average driver, you must have the ability to drive through a marathon in the opposite direction and have no common sense. Enjoy!
This is called an auto-rickshaw. People go on these all the time, but they're getting expensive now. You get their attention just like a taxi; by signaling your arm as if you're swatting a fly. Once you get their attention, you ask them if they can take you to point x. If yes, you jump in and they start a meter to measure the number of kilometers.
The layout inside an auto is almost like a car. It's a three wheeler, so there's only one seat in the front for the driver. In the second row, there's enough space to fit about 3 passengers. The back seat shown in this picture isn't always open. Despite that, we try to fit as many people as possible in the vehicle. There could be up to 10 people sitting in there. It's not safe but it's not against the rules... Welcome to India guys. Where there is no max. number of people in an auto-rickshaw.
The layout inside an auto is almost like a car. It's a three wheeler, so there's only one seat in the front for the driver. In the second row, there's enough space to fit about 3 passengers. The back seat shown in this picture isn't always open. Despite that, we try to fit as many people as possible in the vehicle. There could be up to 10 people sitting in there. It's not safe but it's not against the rules... Welcome to India guys. Where there is no max. number of people in an auto-rickshaw.
Kids in India take the school bus, just like in the U.S., but there are other options too. Some of them walk, some ride a bicycle, or some even take the public bus. Public buses are pretty crazy there. It's always so crowded and full. There's never a spot to sit, and sometimes people are hanging out of the bus. Sounds pretty dangerous right?
Yea driving is like a video game. You're just trying to win and get to your destination as fast as you can. You do what you gotta do. If you're behind a slow driver, you push the honk button and swerve around the car. You push the honk button whenever you're making a fast turn. You push the honk button at people crossing the road. So pretty much, you're pushing the honk button 85% of the time. Like, honking should be the first priority, not driving. I betcha, Indian car companies are developing the technology of honking, not cars and engines. It doesn't matter how fast you go, just honk like a goose. That's how you win the race. Welcome to India guys. This is where you'll learn to be impatient on roads and get ear-check ups every few months from honking!
Yea driving is like a video game. You're just trying to win and get to your destination as fast as you can. You do what you gotta do. If you're behind a slow driver, you push the honk button and swerve around the car. You push the honk button whenever you're making a fast turn. You push the honk button at people crossing the road. So pretty much, you're pushing the honk button 85% of the time. Like, honking should be the first priority, not driving. I betcha, Indian car companies are developing the technology of honking, not cars and engines. It doesn't matter how fast you go, just honk like a goose. That's how you win the race. Welcome to India guys. This is where you'll learn to be impatient on roads and get ear-check ups every few months from honking!
Nevertheless, India has developed in its transportation system. Hosting so many people, they added one more system to make moving around easier, especially in big cities. What did they create? They created a metro system above ground. I've only witnessed it in two cities, Bangalore and Chennai. It took them years and years to plan and construct. I'd say a little more than 10 years. The metro stations actually look very well developed and thought out. Each station has a cool exterior design, and the finishings are well executed.
. The metro actually gets full around rush hour even though it's a rather new way to move. It's a much better option than getting stuck in traffic in cities, and traffic gets reallly bad. It would take you an hour to move 3-4 kilometers. Welcome to India guys. This is your only improved escape from the busy world underneath the metro rails.
. The metro actually gets full around rush hour even though it's a rather new way to move. It's a much better option than getting stuck in traffic in cities, and traffic gets reallly bad. It would take you an hour to move 3-4 kilometers. Welcome to India guys. This is your only improved escape from the busy world underneath the metro rails.
This metro was in the city named Bangalore. It's a busy and crowded city with awful traffic. We had to visit a relative across the city and thank goodness India developed the metro. It took us half an hour to get across, but it would've taken us an hour by car.
The cleanliness inside the metro and the station took me by surprise. I honestly though I was in some other country when I was inside the metro. This makes those public train station look pretty dirty and old. The scene from the metro is quite beautiful. You can see the stubborn traffic below out to the entire city from the window. The metro is even high-tech... the paper tickets are now black scanned chips. Maybe in the future, metro will become more popular and eventually become super crowded. Welcome to modern India guys. This is where you must take the metro; it's the only way to go somewhere under an hour.
The cleanliness inside the metro and the station took me by surprise. I honestly though I was in some other country when I was inside the metro. This makes those public train station look pretty dirty and old. The scene from the metro is quite beautiful. You can see the stubborn traffic below out to the entire city from the window. The metro is even high-tech... the paper tickets are now black scanned chips. Maybe in the future, metro will become more popular and eventually become super crowded. Welcome to modern India guys. This is where you must take the metro; it's the only way to go somewhere under an hour.
On the bright side, transportation in India will never get boring. There's always the beautiful scenery to look at from trains. If you're going through a city, there's always so much to see on either side of you. You can watch the reckless motor-cyclers driving by or the venders selling fruits off the road. There are also street vendors who come to your car door at traffic lights to sell flowers. Or, just watch the driving style and get ready to tell the driver to slow down.
Welcome to India guys. You'll never get bored on the road in this busy country.
Nicely done!
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