On Why I Hate Taking Public Transportation In Trinidad

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People think that I'm a princess because I don't like to use public transportation. I get teased about it all the time, and it doesn't help that my sense of navigation is abysmal. People think that I'm well-off and don't travel because I don't want to "slum it." Well, they're wrong on all counts.

I do not like to use public transportation because doing so makes me feel unsafe. I hate travelling, and I only do it when absolutely necessary. I will make plans around whether or not I will be required to travel. I will sometimes abandon plans altogether if it means travelling through a certain place or past a certain hour. And honestly? I'm just lucky. I have sometime-y access to a personal vehicle, and a flexible enough schedule that I can make arrangements arounds it's availability to me. Lots of women don't have that privilege or that choice, but it's what I do to ensure my own sense of personal security and control.

When I was younger, I thought maxi taxis (the vehicles in the picture above, and one of the main modes of transportation in Trinidad) were AMAZING. At eight years old, there was nothing I wanted more than to ride in one. They were alluring and strange and I thought they were cool. But I'm an only girl. My parents refused to allow me to travel because it "wasn't safe." A small female child travelling alone in a school uniform would make me a target for harassment or buggery. And I believed them. Because when you're eight, your parents are superhuman and they know everything.

As a result, I didn't really start using public transportation with any regularity until I was around 16 and I was sneaking off to my boyfriend's house. (Yes, that happened. I was a harlot. Deal with it.) And it only was then that I realized that even though my parents' fears for me were largely exaggerated, they weren't entirely unfounded.

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