I love travelling, I enjoy it a lot but I do not like people around me travelling away from me 😅.
Most times I travel, I use public transport. Even If the kids would join in the journey, I also use public transport; except if travelling as a family - with hubby.
The most memorable public transport travel I ever made was my journey to Ibadan. It was just a two and half hours journey or let's say, three hours journey from my base.
That time, steemit was the blogging platform we all knew. A meet up of steemians was taking place in Ibadan, that year. So, I attended. There I met many steemians in person and I was very happy to meet and learn from them. I met @olawalium for the first time. I met Bros @tojukaka, @nairadaddy, @gee1 @thelovejunkie, @jeaniepearl @drigweeu, @bobmanuel, etc. I met a whole lot of them and the meet up was quite interesting with talks, questions and answers, refreshments etc. The journey to the venue was smooth without any hitch.
I left Ibadan for Akure the next day because I didn't want to travel late at night after the show. So that Sunday morning, I woke up early, dressed up and headed to the motor park.
Before long, the vehicle got filled and we began the journey. The driver was driving very fast, too fast for my liking. I drew his attention to his speed and asked if he could slow down, but he along with every one else in the vehicle dismissed my observation and concluded that the driver was not running too fast.
Later, the driver decided to buy fuel ( gas) . While buying, I used that opportunity to appeal to everyone in the vehicle to join me and let's make the driver reduce his speed. Instead they laughed at me.
A woman asked if that was my first time of travelling, she said she was travelling farther, that I should just allow the driver to be driving as he pleased. "If an accident wants to happen, it will still happen" she said sarcastically. Everyone responded with "God forbid" and the journey continued. 😅
Not more than fifteen minutes we drove off from that gas station , we heard a loud sound from the vehicle. One of the back tyres had bursted. Then suddenly, the vehicle began swaying left and right. Everyone on board kept shouting "Jesus", "Jesus" . I too screamed; "I said it! Jesus please save me. God please help me".
Now, the driver started applying the brakes he had refused to apply. He could not stop abruptly else the car may summersault. I noticed that the car wasn't balanced on four tyres anymore, it was just swaying left and right. Finally after some distance that seem like some kilometers 😅, the car came to a halt but this time, it was tilted to one side. If the car had fallen, with the fuel we just topped up, the car might get inflamed. Who knows, but God saved us.
As we all came down, we found that it wasn't just that one tyre bursted but it had pulled out. Really? I was very scared. Everyone started praying and glorifying God. Some even kneeling on the road. I was praying too but I reprimanded all of them .
"I told you guys, this driver is running too fast but no one listened to them. See how we would have lost our lives if not for God" I kept shouting. No one dared to respond because they all knew that we could have averted it.
Did you know that the driver spent nothing less than thirty minutes searching in the bushes around for the tyre that pulled out? He had no spare tyre. Really? This driver must be a joker and a careless man with no shame, I said to myself. Next, he made several calls to different drivers to come to his rescue but no help came. Even other drivers who stopped to ask how it happened or to rejoice with us, none were ready to spare their tyres. They too might need it.
So all the passengers began talking to the driver to refund their transport fare paid because they can't keep waiting for him to look for the tyre. There was a lot of argument then, however, he gave each one of us the amount that could take us to destination from that spot. So everyone of us stood on the road to catch another vehicle.
I have never taken any public transport by standing on the road. That could be dangerous. Someone can end up in the hands of kidnappers or killers. I always go through the parks, something like a bus station Here, we call it motor park😅. As you walk in, you find the vehicle going to your direction. You sit and wait for other passengers and you are made to fill out a book called passenger's manifest book that contains name, destination, next of kin, and the next of kin's phone number. That way anyone can be traced back to the park and driver incase of unforseen circumstances . But now, I am going to stand on the road.
As you may already know, oncoming vehicles were no longer empty. So we all stood under the Sun for so long. Few vehicles that stopped in front of us needed only one passenger or two, so some people rushed in quickly, without caring to think of whom the passengers on board were. I was very afraid and skeptical of that.
More vehicles came and kept picking one or two. I was just there very scared. I called my husband and I was crying. But he wasn't very alerted. He was calm. He said I have nothing to fear especially since it was still day time. But he begged that I must not be left alone there. I should try to enter another vehicle with others. According to him, standing alone can pose another challenge. I can be forced into a vehicle. The thing got me scarier.
Finally, I was left with a woman. I asked her why she didn't rush into other vehicles, but found that she had the same view with me. So we both agreed that we would never leave each other . Finally, a vehicle came along. No, God sent a vehicle. It was a bus filled with different kinds of people - men, women, children even old ones. We felt more comfortable than having to enter the one filled with men in black😅 or the one with people with dark sunshades. Hahahaha. I have never been scared like that, all my life.
The vehicle that pulled over asked what we were doing there, so we gave a short story and told them others had left. The driver told us that that place is very dangerous that thieves can rob us there even in broad daylight. So we begged that he should not leave us. But there was only one space. The woman and I quickly told him that we will "lap ourselves", as if we planned it. That was how we left that spot.
Even when the vehicle was filled with people of different kinds, I still could not rest easy till I got to base. When I came down, it was another drama.😅 I started praising God on the street and showed passersby the video I made of the vehicle that the tyre bursted while on top speed, even when the vehicle was tilted, almost to falling. Everyone joined me to thank God before I took a byke to my house. When I got home, I was so happy to be alive to see my children again. I hugged them and said sorry to them for embarking on a journey that almost claimef my life, it wasn't as if going to that meetup was compulsory.
Hubby just said it's ok, that's life experience, we thank God I came back eventually in one piece.
WILL IT HAPPEN AGAIN?
The experience here is one I don't want to happen again. Every driver should not run too fast, speed kills and then it is good to have spare tyres in your vehicles. This experience was not palatable and I pray it doesn't happen again. The only part allowed to happen again is the part that I may still travel with public transport, else this experience left me so scared for days.
This is my entry into @hivelearners task for today. What's your own experience with public transport? Have you made your own post? I like to check it out.
Thanks for the visit. You are highly appreciated.😘😘
Yours,
@adoore-eu
Original images are not handy. Saved somewhere in my hard disk.