Chicken bus

A Chicken Bus is a colloquial name in English for a colorful, modified and decorated bus that transports goods and people between communities in Guatemala. Chicken buses are an economical option to travel between municipalities, and travel long stretches, however there are always other options .

The base of the vehicle is normally a retired North American school bus. The word "Chicken" may refer to the fact that buses are often crowded with passengers, or to the fact that Central Americans occasionally transport live animals on those buses, a practice that visitors from other countries often find interesting.

Some buses have vibrant paint, include the name of the bus and the permanent route. Religious images are also often used. Such forms of transport are completely packed with passengers (whenever possible) and are then driven to their destinations at full speed.

History

Most of these buses were brought from the United States to Guatemala where the owners fix them, put lights, horns, mirrors, rear-view mirrors on them and paint them to make them attractive.Each one invests about 24 thousand quetzals, which is equivalent to USD 3,200. , but it all depends on the complexity of the design. In addition, many must have their engines repaired.

Since the most recent to leave the United States are buses 2010 by a law that obliges car owners to withdraw them from circulation. These buses, also called vans, are one of the tourist attractions of the country, because although there are more modern buses, these "classics" are the ones that attract the most attention, because for the owners, the more ornaments the better.