Panama Makes Changes in Public Transportation: from Red Devils to an Official Metro System

Public transportation in Panama is based on a fleet of cabs and red busses otherwise known as “diablo rojos”. Both of these methods have large downfalls. The cabs are sketchy and overpriced and the busses are scary due to a lack of cleanliness and safety.

Gringos (Caucasions er “not panamanians”) often experience “Gringo Taxes,” mostly with cabs. Taxistas (taxi drivers) charge natives less than a dollar to get from one side of the city to the other while Gringos are charged a minimum of 3 dollars. In comparison to taxis in the United States and other developed cities of the world, that’s ridiculously cheap, however it is still unfair that non-Panamanians are constantly discriminated against. This 3 dollar rate can be raised as high as 8 to 10 dollars for the same one dollar ride a native would receive.

Alexis Simoneau, FSU study abroad student gives American travelers advice, “You can’t always trust the cab drivers. There are instances where they rob you or drive you the wrong way in an effort to charge you more. Young girls are NOT to take cabs alone. You shouldn’t really go anywhere alone in Panama. Maybe during the day, but certainly not at night.”

In comparison, busses are the same price for everyone: 25 cents (to get across the city). They are usually not the preferred mode of transportation because they are normally packed and gringos get stared at and robbed/pick-pocketed. There are 2 kinds of busses in Panama: the city’s “Metro Bus” which are clean and usually follow road rules (these are less common to find) and “Diablo Rojos” or “Red Devils.” The Diablos are old United States school busses that are, in fact, very old and usually have several problems and are used until they break down. “I’ve heard stories of them just blowing up out of no where,” Simoneau says. Diablo drivers are known to not follow road rules, speed, cut lanes and race other Diablos to the bus stops to compete for passengers.

A report of the Authority of Transit and Ground Transport (ATTT) found that the second leading cause of death in Panama is transportation related. The report indicates that more traffic tickets were issued for speeding than for anything else. According to Panamanian bloggers, there is a general perception that speeding is the primary cause of accidents in Panama.

According to a Ditcher & Neira survey of 1,216 people, 36,1% attributed speeding as the main cause of the accidents; 30% said alcohol; and 26% driver negligence. There are more than 30,000 accidents every year, which leave at least 400 died and 10,000 wounded. 95% of the accidents are attributed to human error, and 5% to technical or mechanical malfunction.

The Panamanian government is working on building a metro (subway) system. This should increase the safety of travelers in Panama and decrease the traffic issues on the roads. The project is said to be completed in 2014 and will be the first subway system in Central America.

"Diablo Rojo", one method of public transportation in Panama.