According to our tour guide, the name "chicken bus" was given by the foreigners who were astounded that the passengers on these buses were not only people, but livestock as well. Indeed, many people travel with animals, textiles, and produce on the bus. This points to a larger theme in transportation throughout Latin America— the need for public or collective transportation. Many people do not have the capability to buy a car or a motorcycle, and although there are sources of public transportation provided by the government, they are often limited. Thus, Latin America has a transportation culture teeming with innovation. When there is a public need that the government isn't able to completely satisfy, private entrepreneurs work to fill that need, just like the families that own the chicken buses.
This culture of innovation takes and remodels old vehicles and converts them into coveted and useful forms of transportation, expanding the vehicle's life cycle by many years and giving a whole new meaning to "one person's trash is another's treasure". This process of bus makeovers helped me have a new appreciation for repurposing. In fact, the other day, I saw a school bus with Michigan license plates on a highway in Querétaro, Mexico, and I couldn't help but wonder if it was making its way to its new home in Guatemala, or perhaps there is some other place that finds a different use for the old bus. I hope that you too have been inspired by the innovative chicken buses and can see things in your daily life that can be remodeled and repurposed to make something popular and useful for your community.
