THE TRUCK

The truck is the typical Polynesian public transport. Created in 1935 to replace horse car, some still remember the time when we played ukulele inside the truck to give the passengers a taste of Polynesian folklore during the travel. The truck is different from the traditional bus in the way the truck is made of 3 benches, two on each side of the tuck and a middle one which are parallel to the road. So the passengers sit face to face and side by side. The spirit of friendship which is typical to the French Polynesia and its people is present even in the conception of trucks.

The best experience of it is when you take the truck from Papeete to Taravao by the east coast where this traditional atmosphere remains. At about 7 miles from Papeete after the usual stop to the corner shop to allow the passengers to do some shopping, people start to chat around a relaxed atmosphere and in spite of the panel "Drinking alcohol or smoking is strictly forbidden in the truck" you will certainly be offered an Hinano and you will finish this journey in the middle of talks and laughs with the music on which replaced ukuleles. 

Nowadays, trucks belong to a dozen of small companies which obtain a license of transport from the government. In Tahiti, apart from three bus stations in the center of Papeete, there are not specific bus stops. A piece of material tied up to a house gate or a palm of coconut tree put on the side of the road can appoint a bus stop. Several bells placed inside the truck allow the passengers to ask for the truck to stop at any time. Consequently, schedules are not regular and bus lines are not really defined. For some years the territory has been trying to modernize the system of the public transport to improve its quality, comfort, safety. The bus line from Papeete to Taravao by the west coast possesses buses such as in Europe provided with the air conditioning and the school transport has these big yellow buses we can see in the United States.

It is true that the modernization has its advantages but other will agree on the fact that the atmosphere which reigns in the good old  trucks might be lost for ever.