Why the Green Minibus?
I wanted to work with the minibus as my recurring theme because it felt more personal. This transportation vehicle is very special to Hong Kong. When I first arrived in HK, I was terrified of this bus. Living at a campus that was so isolated from the rest of Hong Kong with only the minibus and the school shuttle bus (that only worked during school hours) made it difficult to avoid using the minibus, but after being forced to use this shaky, scary vehicle, we got pretty used to riding it.
There are no ways of telling where you are or where you are going except for obsessively staring at the blue dot on Google maps, stalking your position without break. The dot is getting closer to your destination, what do you do now? Normally, in any other bus, you would find the stop button and simply press it to announce your departure. This is where the second wave of anxiety hits. Where is the button? If you are lucky, you might be on a newer model with small stop buttons. If not, you will then have to test your Cantonese skills. You need to gather the remaining bit of your confidence and spit out the words “YAU LOK!” as clearly as you can. The words: “Did they hear me?” will repeat in your head as your eyes are looking after the driver’s left arm. You know you have succeeded when you can it being raised. Congratulations, you have now mastered the minibus.It felt like a big accomplishment to me. Having the feeling of being able to survive in a new country on your own was a liberating moment and a milestone. This moment is what led me to love the green minibus.
About the Minibuses
The theme for the general photo essay is social issues. The minibus was caused by the social issues in Hong Kong. During the 1967 Hong Kong riots, workers from the two main franchised public bus services went on a strike, which causes buses and trams to a halt. To accommodate the need for transport, especially in the more rural areas, people with mini vans started providing transport to the public for a small change. Although it was illegal to carry passengers without passenger service license, the Government turned a blind eye to this activity. The legislation in 1968 legalized this service by providing around 5000 licenses available for some drivers. This caused some controversy as there were people who believed it was wrong to issue licenses to people who had been profiting from this former illegal activity.
There are two types of these minibuses that serves as a public transport in Hong Kong, the green and the red ones. The green operates a scheduled service with fixed routes and fares. They have either 16 or 19 seats available. To pay for a fare, you may use cash or an Octopus card. While the drivers might drive a bit fast around the corners, making the rides shaky, the ride still feels relatively safe.
The red ones on the other hand, they are completely different. The fares and timetables are not regulated by the Government, which is why this bus might be more expensive than the regular ones. The flexibility they have makes the red minibuses act like a shared taxi. As there are fewer regulations towards them, HK'ers recognize this bus as the faster, more wild bus. This is a truly liberated bus, and it might take me another few bus rides before I dare take this red monster vehicle.
