Taking public transportation in my city is challenging.

Between the city where I live Guarenas and Caracas there are at least 40 kilometers, the high cost of the ticket, coupled with the wait for transportation, for which you can wait up to two hours, as some drivers do not start the unit until it is completely full of passengers.

I thank God that I don't have to walk through the dark streets of Guarenas to the bus terminal to start my working day in Caracas, since I have the bus stop inside the urbanization where I live, just in front of where I live. Every day I make up my mind that I must get cash to be able to pay the fare back, otherwise I must use my debit card, a service for which I will be charged additional money.

I must admit that although my salary is not bad, the impact that the cost of transportation has on it is very high, reaching 1,400 bolivares a month, a whole week of full salary just to be able to get around.

I leave at 6:00 a.m. and the line of people already exceeds 50 people, but the transportation units arrive every 20 or 30 minutes. Many times I decide to stand on the bus.

There is not a day when someone decides not to stand in line and the bus driver pretends to be indifferent so as not to get into trouble, but the commotion of the users leaves the driver no choice but to remove these people from the line.

An empty bus parked to pick up the passengers and after an hour in line I was able to get on the bus that takes me to the city of Caracas.

I managed to see an elderly lady who tried to pay half the fare (as required by the rules) and showed her the preferential card, but was rejected by the driver who claimed that the subsidy for the elderly was not paid by the government.

The only security measure against passenger robbery in these public transports is a video taken by the prosecutor of all the users when the unit is full, which is no guarantee of anything.

The driver gets on and sits behind the wheel. After two attempts and a long clattering sound of mechanical parts, the vehicle starts, beginning the trip to Caracas with the passengers squeezed against each other.

The driver takes the Intercomunal Avenue of Guarenas. I look to my right and see the half-finished structure of the forgotten Guarenas-Guatire-Caracas Metro. If it were working, people could use the service and get to Caracas in less than an hour, (another unfulfilled promise of the government).

Smoke and breeze are felt inside the bus. The driver plays festive music for the ride. The people sitting on the bus take the opportunity to sleep a little longer. The bus makes its 40-minute journey to reach its destination: the Miranda Metro station, where passengers move to leave as quickly as possible.

I do not take the subway and I walk to the office, the few times I have done so I have had to wait up to half an hour for the train to arrive, causing me stress and anguish.

Living in dormitory cities like Guarenas is a real challenge for its inhabitants. Transportation problems affect people, who not only have to face the shortage of units that generate long lines but also the high ticket prices that exceed the economy of families with average income, and I must make the reverse route with the same problems raised to return home during the late afternoon.

There is an additional problem, which is that of fuel, which is not arriving in the quantities required for the transportation units to work in their entirety. Due to the lack of units in the afternoon and the refusal of the carriers to make more than once the route between the cities of Caracas and Guarenas in the afternoons, I have had to sleep in my office on several occasions, which for me is not at all comfortable.

Every day is memorable for me if I have to talk about public transportation. I look forward to reading your experiences with public transportation and comparing stories. Best regards to all of you.

The photographs are my property and were taken with my Umidigi F2 cell phone.