They are good for the farmers moving their harvests because they can put it in the bed of the truck, but in cities, it's more likely to see yellow taxis. Motorcycles are also quite common here; it's normal to see two people and children all riding on a single motorcycle (and all without helmets).
I think the way I feel depends a lot on the bus ride itself. The length, time of day, amount of traffic, and other passengers all have an enormous impact on how I feel.
My longest bus journey took 14 hours total, in which I took three different buses to get from a town called Vilcabamba in the south of the country to Loja, then from Loja to Guayaquil, and then Guayaquil to San Miguel. I've become quite good at occupying myself with reading, listening to music and audiobooks and napping or just staring out the window at the scenery.
A silly note about the buses is that some, especially on longer journeys, play movies dubbed in Spanish, and they absolutely LOVE playing Liam Neeson movies. I have seen the same movies easily 4-5 times between my various journeys.
I've learned to dehydrate myself before long bus journeys because they very rarely stop for bathroom breaks, and there's no bathroom on the bus. I can handle the curving Andean roads a lot better than I used to now.
