Are you talkin' to me?

“All my life needed was a sense of someplace to go. I don't believe that one should devote his life to morbid self-attention.”
Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in “Taxi Driver”

Taxis roam up and down the cross island road...roosting in the hotter, slower parts of the day at a couple of ranks- small wooden fale's leaning in the shade of big mango trees.

Although  more costly than buses, taxis are a common form of transport and not expensive. Often individually owned, cabs form loose co-ops based around the ranks.

Without meters, fares are bound by a documented set of rates based on concentric circles from the city- ripples radiating from Apia's main market and central bus stop.

You hear the occasional story of a tourist paying more than is fair- but it's rare. More common is a driver negotiating a discounted rate for an individual and regular use.

For me, taxi's serve as relief when vevela le la (the sun is too hot) or if I've snatched an extra half hour of sleep before work. For about $10 tala, I can halve the length my walk in either direction, and get a 10 minute samoan language lesson...the only form of 1:1 language instruction I can afford or find.

Although I might only use a cab a couple of times a week, I share my custom around a little- I walk past several ranks on the way to work and back each day, and get a wave, a word or two and a smile out of each.

I paid a few tala extra for a lift home one evening- it was late, and the cabbie didn't have enough change. It was several days later, that the same cabbie braked on the road while driving past, holding up some fairly heavy traffic, and hung a $5 tala note out the window with a smile “Puy a trink” he laughed...

Another  discussed his small business ideas with me one day- a week later he appeared at the Small Business Centre where I work, to talk to an advisor. A day or two later, he picked me up on his way between ranks and dropped me off 5km up the road, refusing any payment.

Last night, a bus pulled over to pick me up...although I was nearing home- it was hot and I couldn't refuse the gesture as he almost stalled the bus on a steep, curved stretch of the hill. On disembarking, when I tried to hand the driver my $3 tala (equivalent to a dollar fifty) he refused... “I see you all the time walking- you pay when you have money, don't worry”...while I was tempted to explain that I enjoyed the walk- I think it might have been misconstrued, if not rude.

Its nice to think that this generous sharing of transportation is something that's not particular to me, the walkie-talkie palagi... but standard practice for the hundreds of school students and people travelling this road each day. You can get a ride if you need one, money or not.