Friday, March 20, 2009

Top Ten India Transportation Facts


10.  If you were smart enough to pay $15 at the AAA for an International Driving Permit before you left America, pass go and the 2000 other applicants at the Pune Regional Transportation Office.  Your license is good in India.  Otherwise, you have to mail in and hope that DHL is on its game this week.  
9. In the meantime, all things traffic and Indian seem to be loosely construed, contingent, and interpretable.  So, no license = no problem.  I think.
8.  I have now travelled with B&C on board, and even once around the parking lot with Grampy B&C.  That was fun.  No Team Nag Champion Victory Lap Vehicle yet.
7.  In India, the TVS Scooty ES is a family vehicle.  For a family of five....
or six (random first multirider pic from the communal electric brain)
6. Because the law says no more than one rider in addition to the driver....
5. which by de facto application, doesn't include children...
4. or friends, relatives, or anyone under 300 kg or with a last name not ending with qz.
3.  Petrol costs Rs42/liter, which equals about $3 something a gallon, plus, since it really is the same 2-stroke engine as your lawnmower, but perhaps smaller at 50cc, I have to pour oil in the gas tank too.
2. Top speed: ~50km/h...downhill...with a tailwind...
1. Which makes my hair look like 

3 comments:

Grandpa George said...

Ah, yes, I remember a 3-person ride with you and Dawa in Leh, downhill, all laughing....

Unknown said...

big overtime win for THE university of wisconsin badgers tonight over florida state.

Grandpa George said...

If you were an Indian public policy person working on transportation, what would you do? Expand rail? Build cars??...and then roads, roads, roads?? Develop public transportation..or private?

This reminds me of the dilemma of all developing countries. In a climate of scarce resources, what does the most good? The US made a big decision in the 1950s (Interstate highways) that influenced economic development for the next 40+ years. And we are still arguing about whether that was good or bad policy. For India, the choice is more difficult.