Routes Around the World: The Buses of San Salvador and Honduras

Anson Stewart continues his trek through South America, this time stopping off to admire the buses of San Salvador and Honduras.

San Salvador

Buses in El Salvador’s capital had some of the most eye-catching modifications I’ve seen yet. Quite a few of the school buses had lifted front suspensions so that they drove down the highways tilted backwards, some nearly to the point of having their back bumpers on the pavement. While I didn’t get the chance to ride on a bus modified like this, I imagine it would make boarding fairly difficult. Other common decorations included Freightliner truck-style spoilers and numerous shark fins; maybe the buses are trying to be scary to discourage extortion?

Buses in San Salvador

A Blue Bird surrounded by microbuses in San Salvador

San Salvador

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Honduras

While the fleet in Honduras had its fair share of old school buses from the United States, there were also a number of newer, more comfortable models. Bus and road facilities along the main routes were fairly well developed throughout the country. The Grand Central Metropolitan Bus Terminal in San Pedro Sula, Central America’s largest bus station, even has its own Dunkin’ Donuts.

Central America’s largest bus station, in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, has its own Dunkin Donuts

San Pedro Sula bus station

Buses parked in Tegucigalpa

Buses stuck in traffic at the Las Manos border between Honduras and Nicaragua

STN’s Stewart is a graduate of Swarthmore College and a recipient of a 2010 Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, a grant to study abroad. Stewart’s project is “School Bus Migrations: Recycling Transit in the Global South.” Follow his blog and see more photos from his journey.