I love seeing the Diablos Rojos - literally "Red Devils" but colloquially referring to what used to be the only buses in Panama City. They are old (!) school buses - long since retired from use in the US and many of them with a million miles or more on them. They have been painted in wild colors, usually heavy on red - hence "Rojos". Many have flashing lights and loud music - or so I am told since I haven't (yet?) been on one. Most stuff people in until they are packed tighter than sardines and weave in and out of traffic, hellbent to race ahead of whatever and whoever is in their way.
There aren't a lot of them around the University, so I'm trying to grab pictures whenever I see them. Therefore, this collection will grow over my time here. Or so I hope.
They are being phased out - indeed, they are supposedly now no longer operating in Panama City, although that seems to be more the government's hope than reality. The new Metro Buses are sleek,
modern, and have routes. There's a great article in English from the New York Times on the phase out at: nyti.ms/1eoynFU
Interestingly, however, the City Planners didn't do any human-centered design and certainly no field observation. You see, although the Metro Buses are shiny and new, they have bucket seats rather than the bench seats in the old Diablos Rojos. This means that they can't actually carry more people than the older buses, so they haven't had the positive impact on reducing traffic that was hoped.
Doh!
From inside a cab in the rain
On the roads
