PC: Brooklyn News Service
Bus driver and repair worker Cándido Obando said his employer, Roberto Cabezas, travels to the United States every two weeks to buy used yellow school buses for between $2,000 and $5,000, according to a report by Brooklyn News Service. His employer, Roberto Cabezas, travels to the United States every two weeks to purchase used yellow school buses for between $2,000 and $5,000, according to Obando. Retired American school buses are finding a second life on Guatemala’s roads as brightly painted chicken buses, carrying passengers between towns and through rural areas. Once in Guatemala, the vehicles are repaired, repainted and decorated with stickers, religious signs and LED lights before returning to service under their distinctive names. Thousands of retired yellow school buses from the United States operate in Guatemala, where they serve as local and intercity transport. Known as chicken buses in several Central American countries, these vehicles travel through rural areas and are also associated with the transport of live animals, including chickens. The buses are purchased second-hand in the United States and brought to Guatemala for further use. The report, written by Shirley Alvarez, describes how vehicles that have finished their service in the American school transport system continue operating on Guatemalan roads after being repaired and adapted for their new role. Obando also explained that Cabezas keeps some vehicles and resells others to drivers who cannot travel outside Guatemala to purchase buses themselves. These resale prices are generally higher to cover travel expenses. The account describes a second-hand vehicle market that enables retired American school buses to enter Guatemala’s public transport network.