A Rough Commute Home

The Constitution train station here in Buenos Aires was the scene of some dramatic rioting last week. When one train broke down on the tracks, blocking the exit for all the other trains, commuters who had already been dealing with 3-4 hour delays became infuriated and within a matter of minutes were destryoing ticket booths, setting fires and fighting the police. My colleagues and I watched it unfold on tv at the office. "Those guys aren't commuters, they're hooligans," we kept saying.

The next morning everything was normal as I squeezed onto a subway already way over capacity and hoped the open windows would bring a breeze to cool the 90-degree temperatures. As the train kept starting and stopping in the stations and in the darkened tunnels, the temperature rising the entire time, I looked around and thought "Let's burn this train too."

Buenos Aires city elections take place this weekend, June 3. I'll send donations to anyone who promises to improve the public transport system. Click on the title above to see video coverage of the riot last week.