Transportation Problems

Hello readers,

It is always amazing sharing my technical experience and other personal stuff with you all.

On my way back from a regular IT maintenance in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, I decided to drop off few IT equipment back to the office from the client site. While approaching the Tubman Boulevard, the taxi car got impounded by the police for plying the streets with unregistered vehicle. 

We pleaded with the officers to give the driver just a second chance to make his trip to town and do the needful at the Ministry of Transport, but they refused. So, we had to get off the vehicle and search for another available one going our directions. Standing along the roadside and watching the beautiful lines of cars from different manufacturers conveying Liberians to their various destinations, the cars in different colors with varying engine sounds have produced a beautiful rhythm that keeps one totally unaware of the loudness it all creates, regularly.

Then I saw a very strange looking vehicle coming with unfamiliar patterns painted on the outside. The sighting caught the attention of pedestrians and onlookers in communities close to the road. As the car made a momentary stop to drop off some passengers, there was an outburst of a contagious laughter amongst us. Separated discussions immediately followed the laughing and amazement.

I quickly remembered a movie I watched a couple of years ago that I don’t remember the name; in the movie, the hero beat an entire army of protagonists on the bus-like car and flew through the back as it was heading for a crash. However, this was not a movie. I think this is a traditional Chinese or Korean transport vehicle. 

Our economy has gone bad to the extent that the fare from Broad Street to Redlight ( a popular market site in the Paynesville area) has doubled.

With the designs and colours on this car, I am thinking if an ordinary man can afford riding on it.  "I feel for the common and less fortunate who cannot afford to catch a bus neither a taxi cab," I whispered to myself while standing for almost an hour in search of a taxi as the car pulled out. The approach taken by this vehicle owner is very welcoming… It will be great if all roads are connected in and around Monrovia including the coastal highways and rural area to encourage investors in the transport sectors in helping our people. 

My experience last year while heading to Nimba County, outside of Monrovia on a VSAT project was a terrible one. 

Before then, I reached out for my phone, in my pocket and made a few clicks on the camera to share my amazing sighting with my readers.

Prepared by Daniel Collins