Taxi Cabs in Fiji - Jay

The primary mode of transportation in fiji is walking. People walk everywhere. If they have jobs, they walk to work. If they need groceries, they walk to the market. If they are of school-age? Yep, they would walk to school.

But, beyond walking, most people take Taxi's. Fiji is speckled with Taxi cabs. There are taxi cabs in the cities, along the inter-town roads, and even in the villages. Most of the taxis are run down cars with automatic transmissions. The insides are torn up, banged up or rusted through. Driving in them feels like a child's go-cart rumbling down a hill out of control. Though there is often a note (hand written on the dash) stating that seat-belts should be worn, none of the drivers wear one. There are no seat belts in the back seat and on many occasions the front passenger device is either broken or non-existent.

Most of the drivers are of Indio-Figian descent and were born in either Suva or Nandi. They speak english well enough to communicate with passengers, but, despite the area (including Suva) not being that vast, they often don't know all of the streets or targeted destinations. On several occasions, our driver has had to call into their office to get directions (or at least that is what I think they were saying (in Hindi).

And I dont want to intimate that the drivers are bad, but I will say that they are a bit erratic. There is often swerving, honking, quick stops, and otherwise spotty driving. 
Much of the problem with the driving though cannot be associated with the drivers, nor the cars. Rather the roads, the round-a-bouts, and the dogs play a significant role. The roads are full of potholes. And I mean big pot holes. Two feet wide, 6 -12 inches deep and scattered across most roads. 
Additionally, there are many round-a-bouts stationed around the streets of Suva (and other towns). They are a great tool for controlling traffic, but the Taxi drivers also use them as sling-shots to spin their guests from side to side in the back seat of their cars. There are also packs of feral dogs that roam around the cities. They often linger in the roads slowly meandering together (or attacking cars as they pass by). The taxi drivers often honk and swerve toward the dogs to scare them a bit so they do not get hit.

Despite the variety of Issues and oddities of taxis in Fiji. they are certainly a valuable way of life.