Motoconchos rule?

[NewsWhore]

The motorbike taxi, or 'motoconcho' is the leading transportation method in the country, according to Marino del Rosario Caraballo, director of the National Motoconcho Office (Onam). The three-month old office is affiliated to the Land Transport Office (OTTT). According to del Rosario, 632,000 people are registered as motoconcho taxi operators. He estimates that another 400,000 could be providing the service informally, bringing the total to about a million providers. He told Clave newspaper that this means that the motoconcho is the main mode of transport in the country. In contrast, buses and taxis total just 700,000 nationwide. "I would say that they are also one of the leading consumers of fuel, because each motorbike consumes on average about a gallon of gasoline per day," he said, commenting on the inefficiency of relying on motoconchos. Researcher Sergio Catalino Martinez, of Ciudad Alternativa, said the motocochos reflect the DR's under development and backwardness. He said that people choose this job because of lack of better options for making a living, the disorderly growth of cities and the deficiencies of organized transport systems. He said that motoconcho transport began in the barrios of Herrera but quickly spread to the barrios in the north of the capital and on to towns and rural communities throughout the country.

More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#10)