So I did. I called Quincho in Guate and paid his bus ticket (which he'll pay me back next week by working) to come and start. He is stronger than most people here, works hard all day, and I have a rapport with him to be able to explain how to do things right without him getting all mopey and offended.
So I went to the bus office here in El Chal to find out how to pay for his ticket. I was told to come back at 6pm and to tell Quincho to be at the station in Guate at the same time to catch the 7pm bus. I would pay for the ticket, be given the actual ticket, but Quincho would be put on the bus manifest and all would work out. To my surprise, that's how it worked out. I paid the Q110 and he got a seat on the bus.
That night, about halfway to Petén, the bus driver told Quincho to get off the bus. The driver claimed that Quincho's ticket was for only Q60 and since Quincho didn't have the ticket in hand, he had no proof. Quickly the driver came up with the solution that Quincho could get a ride all the way, but he had to leave his bag with the bus driver. "Don't go to the office, come and pay me directly tomorrow," the driver told him.
So at 6 am Quincho was at my door. I gave him a ride to the city (Santa Elena) and I went directly to the office to complain. The man behind the counter was shocked, but went in search of the bag. Of course, the bag was not in the normal holding area. After a phone call to the driver, we were directed to a place in the market where the driver was waiting to watch the game on tv, and had the bag with him. Upon arriving, there was another argument about the Q50, but we finally got the bag without having to pay. BTW, World Cup means bus drivers sit around the market and get hammered. There were several empty cases of beer next to several more unopened ones and these drivers were on 12 hour break before driving back to Guatemala City that night.
What kind of a bus is this? Q110 sounds like a fortune for a chx bus and not nearly enough for a first class...and I've seen nothing but professionalism from the first class bus drivers.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you the name of the company for safety reasons, but it is a very popular northern destination bus line. We have only seen maybe 3-4 chicken buses in Petén in the 3 years we've been here. I don't know if it's a requirement, but all of our buses are part of a line and they all have air conditioning with regular bus schedules. Q110 gets you said air conditioning, your own seat, access to a bathroom, and no stops just looking for people to ride.
ReplyDeleteThere are nicer versions as well, but they don't have as many customers, so not as many buses available, so the scheduling is limited. As one Petenero put it, "If their bus breaks down, you have to wait 8 hours before the next one can pick you up. With the cheap version there is a bus every hour and a half so you don't have to wait very long on the highway."