Ecuador: Motorcycles replace donkeys and horses for rural transportation

Elcomercio.com reported that the use of motorcycle drive in rural areas facilitates transport of people and cargo in narrow or muddy roads. Its usefulness increases in winter. The construction and expansion of roads, the need to save time and the lack of public transportation turned the motorcycle on a means of transport increasingly used in rural areas of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Manabi, Tungurahua and other provinces of the Ecuador. Small farmers in Santo Domingo using very little trucks or pack animals to carry their products to the city. They prefer motorcycles with drawers installed to load. In the beautiful valley parish, at kilometer 23, the road to Quininde, 10 years intensified the use of this vehicle. Aureliano Macías, 60-year-old, ensures that you occurred due to the construction of roads in this area. “When there were no roads, the animals helped us open road. But the work took over. We now use them on farms and to exit, go in moto”. Until October 2013, the Transit agency in Santo Domingo reported an 8 000 motorcycles. Since that month, the Municipal transport company took over competition and tuition from 20 to 30 per day. According to Estela Ibarra, inhabitant parish beautiful valley, the bikes also carry passengers.

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In the 21 kilometer of the Santo Domingo-Quininde, six drivers offer the service until the enclosure the assumption. There is no public transport. Residents went on horseback to via and leaving animals moored there. “They began to steal them.It was dangerous to take the horse. So we opted for the motorcycle”. The trip by the 6 km between via and the enclosure costs USD 1. David Aguilar has a black Suzuki 150. Leads to farmers, students and professorsfor six years. Fridays and Sundays ago to 40 races. “They are fast vehicles. In addition, in the week spending only USD 2.50 in gasoline and bought a bike for less than USD 1 000”. Second Morales used bike for 8 years to sell fish in 10 enclosures near La Concordia. Gasoline extra charge USD 1.50 per day. “In the truck I put $ 10 and if it is damaged, the arrangement is more expensive.” Out of Huambalo… The noise of the motorcycle breaks silence morning in Huambalo, canton Pelileo (Tungurahua). Small vehicles cross every moment with one or two people heading to work in agricultural, livestock and furniture manufacturing 150 craft workshops . Luis Toainga, 50-year-old, bought his bike 10 years ago in USD 300. Used to go to his land in El Cascajal. “The bike replaces my burrito. “Took 45 minutes, but with this time-saving and can carry the tools”. Do not use helmet. Only a frayed cloth hat. “I do not need grass, only a gallon of fuel weekly.” From 2012, the police intensified the control. According to the Headquarters policy, there are 2 500 motorcycle. “Had 5 000, but with the requirement of license, registration and bills, the half came out of circulation”, features Marcelo Ojeda, tenure policy. The apogee of this type of transport was initiated in 2000 in this town of 13 000 people. Each family came to have one to two motorbikes to replace horses and donkeys. That happens – explains Ojeda – because move in it is more economical and easy. The bike also became an alternative when ash from the Tungurahua volcano, after its revival in 1999, began to damage grasslands that fed to quadruplets. Robinson Rodriguez, 19, leads motorcycle makes two. It is his job as keeper of the livestock tool. It madruga at 05:00 to feed the animals. Low 07:00 home in Segovia and then goes to work in the carpentry shop. “It saves money and time.” Chone is full of motorcycle Outside of the mercado San Cayetano de Chone (Manabi) there is a parking lot for motorcycles. Manuel Zambrano uses it from Tuesday to Saturday. He sells cheese and butter of your room Mosquito farm merchants of Manta and Portoviejo. “The bike is like my right arm. When the rains become masses of mud roads, only bikes help us out of our enclosures”. To have become trailers of cane bamboo and wood, according to Jorge Mendoza, neighbor of Conaque. “They can reach where before you could not with horses. But we must learn motorcycle mechanics, because sometimes we they shuts halfway.” The coming and going of motorcycles is constant by the main road of The Tiger, in the parish I Chirijo, in Portoviejo. The road is good, but how difficult is to reach the tires (villages) of the mountains. Sebastian Rojas says that the trip on horseback is deadly, but in bike, problems come down if the engine is in good condition. The cultural promoter Carlos Quito visiting the area three times a year. “5 Years I realize that where before horses, is mooredthere are now bikes. ‘””The beasts ‘, as they call the farmers horses, were replaced by the Mares of steel”. Juan Castro is mechanical. He lives in Manta, but going from Tuesday to Thursday at the rural area of Chone. “I’m like a doctor going to the field. I do not attend to people, my patients are the bikes. I carry spare parts. Sometimes people have no money and I pay with chickens, bananas or fruit, I sell when I return to Manta.” Read Article