Chaos in Kolkata: (almost) everything you (may or may not have) wanted to know about the streets and transportation

Transportation and simply getting around in Kolkata really deserves a post of its own. I wish I had written more about this earlier in my experience because I adapted pretty quickly to these conditions (Rachel, another ETA, likes to joke it's because of my proximity to NYC back home). It's a completely different experience and adjustment for everyone. The most effective way to describe crossing the road would be to compare it to frogger, but with less rules. Autos, buses, taxis, cars, bikes, mopeds, etc. make up their own lanes and often break traffic laws. As long as you're aggressive and an opportunist, it's not too bad. If this sort of thing freaks you out, it will take some time to adjust, but not that long. For me, crossing the road was never too challenging. I suppose it's because when I'm looking at where I want to go, I want to get there in the most strategic and effective way possible. Whenever I have an opportunity to go, I go--speeding, honking, and aggressive cars, autos, and buses don't phase me. However, the beeping does make me angry. In India, a honk of the horn means a simple "hey, I'm here! Don't crash into me!" That makes it sound much more delicate of a situation than it actually is, but I enjoy that description. What often happens is that really horn-happy drivers will hold down their horns if you're crossing the street, and that drives me crazy. I have many "I clearly acknowledged your presence when I decided to cross the street, and unless you accelerate and aim for me, you will not hit me, so kindly stop beeping your horn, please." (note: the inner monologue is not usually that calm, especially when I'm on my morning commute).

Before arriving in India, we read and heard about how crowded the streets everywhere would be. It's true to an extent, but honestly it's really not that bad. I suppose it's possible that all of the warnings altered my expectations enough that it's not as shocking, but I really don't think it's a huge issue. The metro can be quite packed, but it quickly becomes a part of your commute that you deal with. I think it's probably different for everyone. I only mention this because one of my fears about coming here was feeling claustrophobic and being touched by so many people almost all of the time. You really don't end up in situations like that that often, and once you do a few times it becomes a part of the experience that you're used to.

I read a lot about the smells and sounds of Indian streets as well, and that holds true. You can always hear a cacophony horns blazing, usually even if you're inside. There are so many other sounds... for instance in my apartment, I can almost always hear construction, pots and pans clanging, sweeping (always sweeping...), pigeons making odd noises, etc. The air is thicker from pollution as well, but I don't notice that often. India has yet to perfect their sanitation infrastructure, leaving parts of the street covered in rotting garbage. You don't see many bottles because people collect them to refill and resell--make sure any water bottle you buy is sealed! If it's not, tell them and make them switch. There are a number of public bathrooms as well, and they rarely smell pleasant. 

As I briefly mentioned above, the metros and buses are often extremely crowded. I've only taken the buses a few times because I don't enjoy them, so all I can really say is that until you figure out what buses go where, it's quite a challenge. For more information and a humorous story, check out a post (and, if you haven't yet, *all* the posts) on my friend and cohort Adizah's blog. I am a personal fan of her bucket story and have listened to her rendition several times (many of those times by my request). Concerning the metro, the reason I don't like it as much is because it's so easy for people to gawk and leer at you. Also, it's often so crowded that you're literally squished up against people like sardines in a can. This is a bigger concern for women than it is for men, but fortunately there's a women's section. It doesn't exactly solve the problem, especially if the train is crowded anyway, but it helps. It's extremely cheap though... most rides are less than 10 cents when you convert it. When you can take it, it's convenient, but there's really only one line. Two technically, but the other line is further down south and I've never taken it before. Also, it stops running around 10pm (meaning all trains from 8pm on are *packed*) and doesn't open until 2pm on Sundays.

My favorite mode of transportation is the auto(rickshaw). It's cheap, fast, convenient, and frankly adorable. I mean come on, look at this little guy. What's not to love? The autos here run on fixed routes and rates, so as long as there's an auto running to where you want to go and you know how much it costs, you really wont run into a problem. It's rare for auto drivers to try and overcharge you, even if they can clearly see you're a westerner. If they do though, you can typically win the argument pretty quickly.

In the beginning of the program, we were really only allowed to take taxis. When we were with our facilitators (young people our age hired by Fulbright/USIEF to show us around in the beginning of the program), we never experienced problems with overcharging, not turning on the meter, or taking an indirect route. Taxis here have rate charts they need to follow, so as long as you have a copy of one and you make sure the taxi wallah turns on the meter, you wont be overcharged. It's hard to tell if they're not taking a direct route if you don't know the way, and even if you can tell, there's not much you can do in that situation. You could try to argue, but if you don't know the way, all you can do is make claims with no support. Taxis are a relatively expensive form of transportation here, so we don't take them unless we need to.

Another issue with taxis is at night, they often wont take you unless they can overcharge you. They'll either refuse to turn on the meter and demand a certain sum instead, which is always way too much (khub daami!--too expensive!). But, sometimes you really don't have a choice because late at night, they're the only option. Walking alone late at night is never a good idea for either gender, but especially women, as basically the whole world that follows international news to an extent knows. Sometimes they even wont take you because it's too close, too far, or they simply don't feel like it, which one of our Bangla teachers has complained about at least 3 times. "If a taxi wallah is on the road, he should have to take you, and by the meter--it's the law! No one is forcing him to drive his taxi at night..." 

All in all, getting around is very inexpensive and safe, so long as you're not taking cabs or walking, especially by yourself, very late at night. If any future travelers have questions, let me know!