Ode to the minibus.

If you don't know what a minibus is, I'll try to describe it. Its kind of like a full size van, that rides lower, and has seating for between 11 and 14 people. The third seat in each row folds up to become an aisle so that people can pass to other rows.

All minibuses in Malawi have 2 employees running it. One is the driver (essential) and the other is the conductor (sort of essential, at least he lets the driver focus on driving). The conductor yells at you as you're walking by, trying to coax you into getting on the minibus. He's (i have yet to meet a female conductor or driver for that matter) likely to tell you things that are not always true. "Yes, we leave at 5 am sharp." "Yes, this bus goes to Salima." Then went you get to Dwangwa (half way to Salima), they stop the bus and he refunds you part of the trip, though he likely never had any intention of going the full distance.

Typicall mini-buses are in horrible shape. This is a small sum up of some minibus experiences.
1) The sliding door falls off - has happened many times
2) One 2 different minibuses the back of the seat fall off when I leaned against it.
3) I've been in a bus that has been chased by police, while I was in it.
4) Some buses have had live animals inside like chickens, or had fish hanging by the sideview mirrors. How else are going to transport these goods?
5) Once, I was sitting in my seat and noticed that the floor underneath me was smoking. As the driver and conductor jumped out and pushed me out of the way, they lifted the floor board to find the battery on fire.
6) Usually, the shocks are dead, and you will hear metal upon metal throughout a drive over bumpy streets. Sometimes, you wonder how its possible that the bus makes the trip.
7) Often, in less policed areas, conductors will load up the buses to hold 18, sometimes 20 people.
8) The windows of some buses are missing and tape is used to act as a window.
9) One thing that is unbelieveably common, I'd say as high as 20% of the minibuses. The starter doesn't work. This applies to many taxis as well. So, daily you will see people get out and push minibuses/taxis and then jump in when they pop the clutch. This happens a lot! One consequence of this is that you have to add fuel while the vehicle is still running. A big no-no in Canada and the US.
10) Most conductors and drivers only use about 5 -10 litres of fuel at a time to keep costs low. They will usually have a 4 litre oil container filled with petrol in their vehicles.
11) One time, I was on a bus and noticed a 4 litre container behind the driver's seat with some tubes sticking out. I asked the driver what this was, and he explained to me that his fuel tank was eroded so now they used this 4 litre container to store their fuel.
12) Probably the most unbelieveable thing about all of this is that these vehicles all have fitness certifications on their windows (a requirement of all vehicles). Some are obvious frauds, and once in a while you will see a non-corrupt police officer at the side of the road and there will be 11 minibuses stranded. That's probably when the cops go on a safety blitz.

Its an interesting experience to say the least. They do serve a purpose as they provide the only affordable means of getting around though, for most people in the country. They're running condition may be a function of either greedy owners or that people can't afford to pay more so maintenance is left to a minimum.