Mission Anywhere: Please Tell Me We are Riding in that Crazy Truck!

(Continued from “True Unknown”)

Our host Jim and a flock of porters lead us through the parking area and into an adjacent lot. That is when we saw it...the “Tap-Tap.”

Photo by Matt Parks

Yes, this amazing machine was our ride! A modified box truck outfitted with the finest amenities: hand rails, bench seating, a locking door, and ample storage. This thing had it all!

The name “tap-tap” is taken from an inexpensive, dangerous, yet quite entrepreneurial method of transportation used throughout Haiti. Say some guys what to earn money and are the proud owners of a broken down pick-up truck. They get it running, paint it with the loudest colors possible, and start running a route. One guy drives, while the other sits in the back and collects money. Transportation innovation!

Passengers pay the quarter fare and load in the back. Once the bed is filled to well beyond capacity, they roll out. When a customer sees his destination, he “tap-taps” on the side and is let off. What’s the catch? This isn’t exactly a safe practice. Most trucks are mechanically flawed and driven like race cars. We saw one so packed that people were barely able to stand on the tailgate. To us, it was crude and insane. To them, it works. As they say, “T.I.H.” (This is Haiti)!

Our tap-tap was clearly not of the authentic variety, but the concept is there. We loaded both luggage and traveler and headed northwest through Port-au-Prince.

The scene was difficult to bear. Many people worked the streets trying to sell anything they could. Some men loaded rubble into trucks while others slept in filth. The sides of buildings might as well been public bathrooms. There were a lot of tent cities, some stretched farther then I could see.

Everywhere we looked the mood was desperate. We rode through the streets as tourists, viewing this human tragedy through a metal screen. There were no tourists on the street though, just Haitians. The state of tourism reflected the state of the economy, desolate. We got a few smiles and waves from people but they mostly looked at us like we had no idea how they live. They were right. I don’t think any of us ever witnessed anything quite like it.