Bustling Busses of American Samoa

 Family enterprise is alive and well in American Samoa, at least when it comes to busses. Families not employed by the tuna factory look for other ways to earn a living.  Apparently, buying a chassis and building a unique bus is one of the ways a family can earn money for their families.   

Decorating the bus with feathers, hanging ornaments, and playing incredibly loud music and showing music videos on the screen at the front of the bus personalizes the experience for the driver and the riders.  On one of the busses, it felt like we were inside the base section of a boom box.  It was our understanding that they play the music loud so that no one falls asleep and misses their stop.

The wooden bench seats would fit two normal sized Americans or one American Samoa.  These folks are quite large, obviously one of the reasons there are so many American Samoan tackles on college football teams. When the bus is full, trying to sit one American and one American Samoan on the same seat is quite a challenge.  When school lets out, the busses are jammed.  While sitting in front of the laundromat waiting for clothes to dry, I captured these photos within the span of 15 minutes.