This is a minibus:
My wife especially knows my fascination with public transportation. When we go to a city like New York or London, she wants to shop, and I want to ride the subway. Well, Addis doesn't have a subway, so I had to settle for the next best thing... the minibus. Minibuses in Addis are basically converted vans that can carry about 15 passengers. They traverse the city in all imaginable directions and routes, and to get from A to B you simply ride a couple of minibuses in succession to your destination. Sounds easy right? Except here's how you may have to get on one:
Crazy, huh? (Imagine doing it with a family of 4!) Once you are on the minibus, you pay the cashier (that's the guy with his head sticking out the window in the first picture). It's usually around 3 Birr (about 18 cents) per adult, kids are free. Then, you try to act aloof as people cram in and around and over and on you. Even sitting on someone's lap is acceptable minibus etiquette. Here is the view from my seat in the back one day.
The minibus is okay, but we were still pretty excited to rent a car the other day and say goodbye to them for a little while. And of course, I still dream of a nice subway or light rail here. So imagine my excitement the other day when I saw a sign for this:
Under construction now with the expectation of being completed by 2014!
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