Transport

Transport
Yellow taxis
Not many people have cars, they are way too expensive on a local Gambian wage. Transport is in the form of shared taxis driving set routes along one road. The cab drivers basically drive up and down the same road and pick up/drop off passengers along the way. These are shared taxis and cost 5 dalasi for one way along the same road. When you get in you say 5 for 5, which means 5 people can fit in the cab and each pays 5 dalasi. If you need to then go another road, you get off and go through the process again. Alternatively, you can negotiate a fare to the exact location you wish to go in the Kombos region, but this costs more.
Gelis
These are bush taxis, same size as a van, they transport thousands of people all over The Gambia. They are in a state of disrepair due to the bad road conditions and hold around 20 people, all packed in snuggly. They usually begin in a town at a location called The Garage, which isnt really a garage, just a meeting point for Gelis or taxis. They can also begin at a particular spot at an intersection, so you need to ask around. I travelled to a coastal town last weekend called Kartong, as I was meeting people there to camp on the beach. I travelled alone and required 3 bush gelis to reach my destination. The first geli leaves a destination in the Kombos area and a young boy calls out the destination out of the window and you hop on. This process continues along the street until the geli is almost full. People hop on and off along the way. The cost of a geli is around 10 dalasi. The next location I arrived at, Brikama, was crazy, bush gelis everywhere, literally a hundred, I asked where the Gungar geli was and hopped on. Gelis at garages do not leave until they are almost full, this can take hours, luckily i only needed to wait for half an hour. This whole process began again once i reached Gungar and walked 2km to the Gungar garage, finally my final destination, Kartong appeared. It took me nearly 4 hours to arrive to Kartong, by car it would have taken just over an hour. Travelling in The Gambia requires patience, time and the ability to withstand heat in a packed van, but depsite this, the system works and you can move around the country cheaply.