Moving from one place to another is often exciting, you can walk or take a train, a car, a motorcycle, a tricycle or even a plane, in short anything you want. In this article, I tell you about the unique experience of taking the bus in Kinshasa, between the debate of the money collector and this gentleman, discussions between customers on football or politics, the loud music of the driver while you are stuck in traffic and the other lady who is watching her neighbor while he uses his phone… You have something to make your day or evening. Laugh !
Many people do not like taking buses in Kinshasa, citing promiscuity and suffocation as the reason, because many buses are not ventilated enough and are easily stuck in traffic jams, sometimes causing suffocation. But these people often miss the first and last part of their day, because taking the bus in Kinshasa is simply incredible.
Ticket the bus
The first subject of discussion is the price of the ticket set by the collector, who also demands the money before getting on the bus for fear that the passengers will revolt once inside. Every day these prices change depending on the time of day, traffic jams, rain, drivers’ strikes, insurance checks and vignettes, etc. These buses never lack customers, obliged to go to work. These passengers, once boarded, attack the collector and the bus driver. There, the debate is launched, one thing leading to another, it is the management of the government which is strongly criticized with all the embezzlement files which are revealed every day, the opulent life of deputies and ministers. A real disaster!
Kinshasa, a passenger paying for her transport ticket before getting on the bus.
Photo credit: Maria Maba
The debates also revolve around football, the rivalry between the musical artists Fally Ipupa and Ferré Gola… Sometimes too, everything is calm and a passenger who turns out to be a pastor stands up and begins to preach Jesus Christ, forcing everyone to people to applaud, say Amen or even sing. An awkward moment because often each passenger comes on board with their own mood and concerns, and takes the journey for an ideal moment of reflection.
Watchers, flirters, eaters…
However, on buses, there is never a shortage of people who are always lurking on neighbors’ phones, even going so far as to make comments without embarrassment. There is also this category of people who during the journey eat small things, which have a strong scent, make people salivate in the morning; that man or woman who yells at the driver because he won’t turn down the volume on his radio; then these people who speak loudly on the phone, you have the right to hear their entire telephone conversation, without asking.
Read also :
In Kinshasa, public transport buses have neither horns nor mirrors. A colleague of the driver (the “receiver”) is responsible for replacing them
Kinshasa, a conductor who attracts customers to his bus, on the Victory stop, in the commune of Kalamu.
Photo credit: Maria Maba
We also know people who are in a hurry. People who are always late, who think that the driver is not driving fast, or that he should take this or that section to speed up. Unfortunately, Kinshasa drivers are sometimes stubborn and they persist in their trajectory, even if you happen to spend two hours in traffic. On the bus, you also witness flirting, yes, love is everywhere, you still hear how the man begs the pretty neighbor for her phone number… Laugh! Men sometimes make me feel sorry for me.
Furthermore, taking the bus in Kinshasa is in a way a moment of reunion between Kinshasa people, where we share news, ideas, or also, we just remain silent and wait to arrive at our destination.
Don’t hesitate to take it from time to time… Just be prepared to put up with spying neighbors… Die laughing…