Take That, Crappy L300 with No Aircon! 5 Out-of-this-world School Buses!
TrafficDito.com’s early morning reports have confirmed what we’ve been dreading these past few weeks: back-to-school traffic.
At around 7AM and 4PM, we can expect a surge in the number of vehicles on the road, probably numbering in the thousands. This, plus the rain and flooding we’ve been experiencing lately only means that we’re probably in for some gloomy mornings ahead. Le sigh.
Realization 1: Our school buses look weird…
I had a strange brain-fart the other day while stuck in traffic. Our school buses look pretty weird. Everyone has this idea of how a typical school bus looks like: big yellow behemoths that reminded us of the Magic School Bus from when we were kids, perhaps the same we still see on TV today. Here in the Philippines though, they more often than not look like these:
Realization 2: So do some other countries’!
Realizing that my image of a school bus had been ingrained in my head by years of western television, I realized that we can’t be the only country with “weird” buses. Check out some of the funkier-looking buses I found from other parts of the world:
India’s Rickshaw “Buses”
In the overcrowded city of New Delhi, it’s not unusual to find these rickshaw school buses around the streets. The city being even more crowded than Metro Manila, I suppose the added mobility and ability to squeeze in through tiny alleys are a big help in getting the kids to school on time.
Dutch Pedal Buses
While better known for their… uhhh… botanical industry, it’s important to note that the Dutch are also crazy bike fanatics. It makes sense then, that they’d want their kids to get in on the pedal-pushing hobby pretty early on in life! This kid-powered bus is called the bicycle school bus, and is sold by the same makers of the beerbike. According to this article, they’ve already sold 25 of these transports around Europe. The main reason these probably won’t sell locally? They cost around $15,000 each!
Japan’s cute-sy animal buses (what will they think of next??)
Leave it to the Japanese to take the simple concept of the school bus and take it over the top it with their obsession for all things cute-sy! Not that I’m complaining, I can imagine my 5-year old self actually being excited to go to school if it means I’d get to ride inside a giant puppy.
Awkward enough to be featured twice, Japan (AGAIN) and their anime buses
I suppose I spoke too soon when I asked what they’d think of next. Well, at least it shows that they’re proud of their culture! :D
Brazilian School Boat
Okay, so technically it’s not a school BUS (although check it out, the thing’s still got wheels! LOL). Matching the traditional school bus colors and brandishing the word “Escola” on the side, this picture was taken somewhere in Bahia, Brazil. While eccentric, it sure beats what we experience over here during typhoon season.
So I guess our school buses over here aren’t so weird after all. In fact, there are tons of other weird ways to get around. In fact, I’m all for our school buses over here. The more carpoolers and bus-riding students we have, the better. Can you imagine the traffic if each kid pulled up to school in their own car?!
So which one of these strange school transports would you want to try?
-EJ, Product Marketing Padawan
P.S.
During that early morning pileup, don’t forget to report traffic by downloading the TrafficDito iPhone app!
