How To Tell One Vehicle From Another.

• P. All private vehicles have license numbers beginning with 'P' (for Private).
• H. Public transport - whether buses, taxis, or maxi-taxis have license plates beginning with 'H'.
  H. stands for 'Hire'.
• T. 'T' for Transport. Usually trucks and light transport.
• R.Rentals have been given their special category. Numbers begin with 'R'. .

There is an another unofficial, undocumented category locally called 'PH'.

Now you may not see any registration plates beginning with 'PH'. But due to the deficit in public transportation, many people with private cars ply for hire anyway. The practice is called "pulling bull".

One lady, when asked how easy it was to get a taxi on a certain road, replied that there were many taxis. 'But,' she said 'if you're waiting for a 'taxi - taxi' you could wait all day'. The locals know which cars to take, and patronise them because there may be little alternative.

The police tend to bother too much about to the practice, because any rigid enforcement of the law could leave large numbers of travellers stranded. However, the licensed taxi-drivers sometimes put pressure on the authorities to enforce the law.

And for good reason too. Insurance companies will not cover private vehicles that are plying for hire, so you use them at your own risk. But sometimes there is no choice. More public busses are being brought into service, but that takes time and massive sums of money

You will find that not all 'R' vehicles are driven by tourists. Holidaymakers and businessmen from Trindad and local residents make use of the trade to a large extent.

"The Good Old Days"

Now it once used to be that twenty-five and thirty year old contraptions were given pasable body jobs and gleaming coats of paint. Riding in them was another thing! The miracle of native mechanical genius is that they still ran at all!

But what else can a person do when a new very small car may well cost over 70,000 local dollars, and even a ten year old one can set you back about $20,000 to $30,000?

.. But the scene of the world keeps changing. No more old "rakatang" vehicles with fenders flapping or doors wired shut.

The government have fairly recently brought in legislation that requires every vehicle over 5 years old to be inspected every two years and given a certificate of road-worthiness. Most cars on the roads now are therefore in good condition.

That is a good thing, without doubt, and a blessing. But, somehow some of the colour has gone out of life - along with clouds of smoky exhausts!

You will notice too how certain folks love painting words, slogans, and other enigmatic expressions on the rear window glass of their cars. Sometines on the upper front windshield, or on the body of the vehicle itself!

Here are some of the more esoteric sightings:

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