PV buses

A bus ride is an experience.  It is a cheap way to travel long distances.  The cost is 6.50 pesos, or about fifty cents.  There are no transfers, but you can stay on it for a long time.  I wouldn't advise a ride over about 30 minutes.  No one with hemorrhoids or a bladder problem should ever step on a bus (let alone someone with a weak heart).  If they were built with shocks, they died a long time ago.  Many buses have brakes that grind and scream.  It is amazing that manage to stop at all.  Of course you have the musicians, singers, and just plain drunks getting aboard to ask for money.  Pets are allowed, not just dogs but farm animals too.

You would not believe how fast these rickety old buses can go.  There are not only huge bolders to drive over, but something that resembles speed bumbs.  I assume that was their purpose as there are rows of large stones or metal bumbs.  When a speeding driver hits one of them you can be thrown a foot off your seat.  Always hang on, even when seated.  Try not to be the last to get on (even if you have to squeeze by some old lady).  As soon as the last passenger puts one foot on the bus, they will take off.  If you haven't gotten to your seat, hang on for dear life until the next stop as you will be thrown all over the bus.  .  The drivers will also race each other down the street at amazing speeds trying to pass one another.  Some times it looks like they are inches from a collision.  Getting off is tricky too.  There are little red buttoms sometimes over the exit door (not an easy reach on a speeding bus).  They won't stop just because you stood up and managed to get to the exit door.  You have to push the buttom.  Sometimes the buttons are over certain seats causing you to reach over two people to press it.  If you are lucky there will be one on the post by the door.  Like I said, it is a real trip.

Now selecting a bus can be as challenging as riding on one.  Don't depend on finding a bus stop sign (many have long since disappeared).  Just look for a group of people who look like they don't know each other standing on a curb.  Basically you are looking for a blue or green bus for they go in different directions.  The problem is that there are as many as a dozen blue buses and maybe six green ones, each having a different destination.  Signs are painted in white on the window (like Wallmart, Costco, or Hotel District).  Some signs look like someone just dipped their finger in a paint can and printed.  I managed to figure it out, but always remember which bus you arrived on, or you might not get back.
Just to confuse matters there are also the tour buses, cruise line buses, and charter buses, plus some large white ones.  The white ones have no signs painted on the window and appear to be in better condition.  I just don't know where they go.  The blue and green buses are so old and rusty that sometimes you can watch the payment speed by through cracks in the floor.