Opinions - Peru - "Death's buses"
Panaji,Goa,India -Herald Publications, by Giles Bertin -8 Jun 2006: -- The notorious “death buses” taking Peruvians and tourists up the Andean nation’s snaky mountain roads have killed 68 people in road accidents so far this year... Travelling in Peru, whose Inca ruins attract tourists from around the world, has become the road version of Russian roulette as many buses are built out of old truck chassis... Under then-president Alberto Fujimori, who ruled from 1990 to 2000, the bus service was liberalised and vehicle controls were abolished. This led to a drop in ticket prices, but to the detriment of quality and security... A normal bus costs up to $300 000, but a “death bus”, made out of a used-truck frame, is worth $30 000 in a country where 95% of transportation is road-based... The mountain country’s tight roads are not suitable for normal buses, a problem that led two bus makers to create an “Andean chassis” that they believe is more stable, according to an auto-industry expert... (See the full story...)
posted by Unknown @ 6:19 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home