The Combi: Transportation and Community in Small-Town Mexico
Someone once wrote that Mexicans are the most Buddhist of all Latin American cultures. Mexicans are patient, they believe in community and they are ready to work together to help someone in need. The other great thing about Mexicans: they are very good at public transportation. When I am driving near my home in Northern Virginia, when traffic is at its any-afternoon-of-the-week worst on the beltway, I look out and see all of us trapped in our cars, empty-eyed. This is when I think of good public transportation systems and Mexico. Like the collectivo van we used to call the Combi.
In our ever-growing, traffic-filled, commuting-to-work day to day lives, it’s too bad that we don’t have Combis in the states.
The Combi in Mexico is essentially a fifteen passenger van with the seats taken out and replaced with small benches which line the edges of the van so that passengers sit facing each other with their bags and packages in the middle or on their laps. It is easy to get on the van and sit quickly when the seats are arranged this way. Working class Mexicans in small communities use this mode of transportation. When I lived in Pachuca, it cost me 7 pesos (around 40 cents) to get around town and to travel to and from work.
The nice thing about the Combi is the friendly, communal atmosphere. People entering the van always greet the passengers already seated. “Buenos tardes,” says the new passenger, and the rest of us answer in chorus, “Buenos tardes.” After being in the country for a good amount of time, I realized that this communal, polite attitude stretches to many social situations in Mexico. People don’t pass by each other silently. It is customary to say Good morning, Good afternoon and See you later. As we exit the Combi, most people thank the driver, who yells “Hasta lluego” and speeds away. “See you later” is the usual way to say Good-bye in Mexico with or without the chance that you will see each other later.
Another thing about the Combi, you can always jam more people on it. Even when it feels completely packed, the driver will stop and one more person will climb on, people will squeeze together for that person to move in and sit down. Mexicans are not worried about getting close to each other.
The Mexican Combi is a unique, intimate experience not only because we sit closely and say hi to each other. Sometimes, if you’re sitting far from the driver, you have to give your money to the person next to you who passes it up the van to the next person and so on, until it reaches the driver. Everyone takes your money, says the name of your stop, and passes the money for you. Everyone takes part. On a Combi, you are never alone.
Now that I’ve been away from Mexico, I’ve thought back on the things that I learned and appreciated there. Public transportation being one. Public transportation vehicles like these in our own country would not only simplify our lives, but maybe we would also learn something about the value of community.
