Metro/Skytrain

It occurred to me this afternoon that I put my life on the line far too often living in Chongqing. I had an appointment in Yubei (New North Zone) this past weekend and nearly died on numerous occasions on my way there. I ventured onto Bus 111 for the first time and was not prepared for the next 30 minutes of death defying adventures.

I have had my share of near misses in taxis, but generally I feel safe; sometimes a little car sick, but never a feeling of panic like I had this weekend. I had sat down in the front of the bus behind the driver and had full view of the terror that ensued. I have seen my share of aggressive Chongqing drivers, but this driver is at the top of the list. It started off with him driving away from the bus stop as an elderly gentleman was barely on the bus. Even the young woman collecting bus fares was annoyed by the driver’s lack of respect for his passenger’s safety as she helped the old man to his seat.

We then began our journey with me clutching the handrail in front of me as we roared down the hill to the #1 Bridge heading to Jiangbei. It was the early afternoon, so the streets were not too busy. This regrettably meant we were full speed ahead. The driver of the bus even passed the law abiding motorists in the oncoming lane – This is a winding switchback hill and most taxi drivers don’t even attempt this maneuver, let alone in a bus. It was the merge onto the bridge which gave me the biggest scare.

Some might call this a merge, but it was more along the lines of forced entry. We went up the onramp not losing any speed from the hill and kept our momentum through the “merge.” Another bus that had just come through the Sihuang tunnel, the main thoroughfare entering the bridge, had to lock up it’s breaks in order not to collide with the bus I was unfortunately on. Sitting behind the driver I had a great view of this near collision. The driver continued his aggressive driving with one hand on the horn and the other on the wheel cutting off as many motorists he could along the way.

Half an hour after getting on the “terror bus” I arrived at my destination happy to be in one piece. It his experiences like this that make me truly appreciate Chongqing’s initiative in blanketing the city with a metro line.

When the blue line is complete in a little over a year it will make a world of difference. Having the option of taking the safe, clean, on time metro will dramatically change the city; especially easing the north-south traffic jams. This will allow commuters living all the way in Yubei, as well as Nan’an, the option of taking the metro, but more importantly it will remove of few of the Terror Buses from the Chongqing streets.

Perhaps on my next bus adventure I need to sit at the back of the bus where I can't see what is happening.

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