Diablos Rojos: The Famous Painted Panama Buses

Riding public transportation in Panama City, like in most Latin American cities, is quite an adventure. Hailing a taxi in Panama City takes skill and Panama buses have character!  Panama’s Diablos Rojos (Red Devils) are a Panama City icon; these painted buses in Panama have been close to extinction many times due to regulations the Panamanian government wanted to implement, the most recent attempt this past March; would this mean the end of a legacy?  If travelling to Panama City on vacation any time soon, you might still catch them riding the busy streets of Panama City.  These humongous monsters of the road hauling Panamanians alongside their bright and colorful designs might be running their last parade.  Pay close attention to take a good look before their possible farewell as they pass by at break neck speeds and all you’re left with is the colorful trail in the corner of your eye!

The Story Behind Panama’s Red Devils

Panama’s Diablos Rojos had been the “base” of public transportation in Panama City; for decades their folkloric designs have roamed the city streets and their numbers grew exponentially and without a real control.  Once the government realized the mess, it was just too late and the number of complaints from users began to escalate due to the “evils” created by the sprawling of these painted Panama buses: the traffic jams, speeding and racing among drivers to steal passengers and earn the “extra coin”, no respect for traffic rules, the drivers’ rudeness and even recklessness, and the number of accidents caused by these Panama buses became a major concern.

You could say that the Diablos Rojos are not the best vehicles for the use they were given; these painted Panama buses are mostly old US school buses with their seats and doors actually tailored for children!  Yet for many, many years there were not that many options in Panama’s public transportation, unless you had the money to pay for a taxi or have your own car, hence people learned to live with them and their drivers and owners gave them a very special character by painting them in bright, colorful designs depicting all sorts of themes:  showbiz stars, politicians and even religion, you name it!  The Diablos Rojos were the means of transportation for most Panamanians and tourists absolutely love them!  They are like nothing you’ve ever seen back home.

Time for Extinction?

Yet the ugly truth is that the old Diablos Rojos are probably not practical anymore.  With the demands of today’s busy lives of Panamanians, these painted Panama buses are not up to the challenge anymore: they are not quite comfortable considering they were made for kids; they are not really suitable for the tropical weather in Panama; having only one way in and out as most do makes the loading/unloading times very long; and being as iconic and eye-catching as they can be, their use is causing more harm than benefit to the environment and the population as a whole.

Consequently the Panamanian government has tried many times already to get rid of Panama’s painted buses. The traffic jams, the environmental issues, the fact that more people have a car nowadays (which means more street clogging!), and demand for the use of the “archaic” buses in their eyes was not well justified anymore and so forth have been some of the reasons given behind these attempts.  And so, seems we might be approaching the end of an era as current Panamanian government has called for the removal of all Diablos Rojos from the streets of Panama City to give way to new, more modern units by company MiBus.  The units are brand new and comfortable, have A/C and a pay-by-card system, as well as better safety measures (seat belts, fire extinguishers on board, etc) and many other “modern” features that our old Diablos Rojos lacked.

But guess what?  Panamanians are not totally bought by the idea of a new, more modern bus system and have gone to the streets in protest!  It might not be so much out of nostalgia or because they miss their Diablos Rojos, but seems that these new company running the bus system has not the capacity to serve all users.  MiBus has tried to deny these affirmations and explain to the population that phasing out the old system and putting the new one to work will not happen overnight.  Yet, even current Panamanian President has called for the company to step up and try to resolve the issue.

A New Era?

We might be witnessing the start of a new era in Panama’s public transportation.  For us as tourists, it might come handy to have a more modern, convenient and swift transportation service, but the truth is the streets of Panama City will never be the same without their colorful Diablos Rojos.  Although hope might not be totally lost; from my last visit in last year (2013) there were some of the “clean” white buses already on the streets and suddenly this December they were all painted again!  The legacy of the Diablos Rojos in Panama might continue.