As a taxi driver, the only thing you can do to avoid danger in a city like Bogotá is to turn yourself over to God. – Guillermo Teuta (in El Tiempo, the above photo is from the newspaper La Nacion)
This past week nightshift taxi drivers got together to protest a rash of killings of nighttime drivers. In order to do this, they blocked several major roadways in Bogotá on Friday. This morning I spoke with a taxi driver who told me that what is needed is direct communication with the police and more GPS in taxies. Hopefully, this situation can be worked out and the city can get even safer for taxi drivers.
Because of the strike the embassy asked that employees use caution in getting to work. I usually take the embassy shuttle to work, but I either missed it or it never came (a good number of the drivers couldn’t make it to work). A driver for another person saw me and picked me up. Since these protests can occasionally turn violent I was a little nervous until the driver told me what he used to do. He is a retired police officer who worked narcotics in Medellin during Pablo Escobar’s time. When he retired, he was in charge of the vice-president’s security detail. This made me a lot more comfortable for the rest of the ride.
This past week nightshift taxi drivers got together to protest a rash of killings of nighttime drivers. In order to do this, they blocked several major roadways in Bogotá on Friday. This morning I spoke with a taxi driver who told me that what is needed is direct communication with the police and more GPS in taxies. Hopefully, this situation can be worked out and the city can get even safer for taxi drivers.
Because of the strike the embassy asked that employees use caution in getting to work. I usually take the embassy shuttle to work, but I either missed it or it never came (a good number of the drivers couldn’t make it to work). A driver for another person saw me and picked me up. Since these protests can occasionally turn violent I was a little nervous until the driver told me what he used to do. He is a retired police officer who worked narcotics in Medellin during Pablo Escobar’s time. When he retired, he was in charge of the vice-president’s security detail. This made me a lot more comfortable for the rest of the ride.
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