Africa economy
Guinea: “school bus” apprentices
Audio 02:06
American school buses are used in Guinea because they are known to be resistant.
© CC0 Unsplash/Thomas Park
By: Matthias Raynal Follow
2 mins
These are the small hands of long-distance transport in Guinea.
They are barely in their twenties: the apprentice drivers cross the whole country aboard their
school bus
.
In these vehicles imported from North America and modified to withstand Guinean roads, they spend all their time.
Never, ever, should they leave their workstation.
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From our correspondent in Conakry,
Youthful, tired face, Aboubacar Camara barely wakes up from his nap, after a long journey that lasted more than twenty hours.
“
We arrived this morning at 7 o'clock.
We came from Kérouané
,” he explains.
Kérouané is a city in southeastern Guinea, located 800 kilometers from the capital.
“
There are two drivers and three apprentices.
The apprentice, he must watch the luggage of the passengers who are in the vehicle
, ”continues Aboubacar Camara.
For 2 years, he has been traveling everywhere, surveying the country in all directions.
He doesn't do it for the money – he only gets paid 15-20 euros per trip – what he wants is to be able to drive a bus himself one day.
One of these
school buses
imported from America and which, that day, are lined up next to each other in the muddy parking lot of the Conakry bus station.
► Also to listen: Guinea: no retirement for American school buses
Prohibition to leave the vehicle
“
We prefer to use American buses because they are very resistant.
We put two people per seat
.
There are 44 seats and a roaring engine.
Barry Béavogui got behind the wheel.
This 22-year-old forester knows these buses by heart.
“
It's very resistant as a bus.
It can last for years.
The engine is protected, the radiator too.
It's not original, we're the ones who modify the vehicle in our Matoto garage
,” emphasizes Barry Béavogui.
In this district of Conakry, mechanics add steel bars, plates to allow the vehicle to withstand the dilapidated roads of Guinea.
Apprentices are prohibited from leaving the vehicle.
“
This is where we spend the night, because I can't leave the bus and go home.
There's the battery, parts that I can't just leave unattended
.
»
A few more days of calm and boredom for the apprentice drivers before a new start.
Early in the morning, the young men will be on the bridge, the vehicle will move in the direction of the interior of the country.
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Guinea
Transportation