Chicken Bus

There is, in Guatemala, a mode of public transportation called "chicken buses."  It looks like this:

As a note, I have only heard ex-pats (people foreign to Guatemala) call them Chicken Buses.

I say public transportation, but I should specify.  Chicken buses are retired US school buses that have been privately purchased, blinged out, and repurposed as public transit.

I don't know how it all works, but chicken buses are the primary transportation from the city to other places, as well as some in-city routes. In spanish, they are called "bus de transurbaro." 

**Update: they are called "las camionetas," or just "los buses."**

Anyway, I've been trying to get a decent photo of one for weeks, but they move really quickly, and are difficult to photograph, but I finally snagged a good photo.

Much love!

**Update**

There is an actual documentary about these buses.  The US Embassy showed it last week with English subtitles. See the trailer below:

I have a student who buys transports, and sells these buses.  He says that he usually buys them from the east coast, because then he can ship them across the gulf of Mexico.

I asked him why he sends them by boat, instead of driving them, and he said that because of the cartels in Mexico, it's just too dangerous to drive them through Mexico to Guatemala.

**End of Update**