What unusual means of public/share transportation exist around the world?

Question

I wanted to ask about all possible means of transportation, but buses and trains are too obvious, so this question is about those specific only to few cultural regions or a certain place. I am interested in public and share transport, and not in vehicles used for recreation. It would be also nice to have the capacity of a single vehicle and average prices included, and naturally to see the photos.

So for example a balloon can be mentioned with a corresponding region, if it is one of the main options there for a scheduled/hired transport of people (e.g. because of a difficult terrain).

Or a rickshaw can be added, if it is extraordinary, which means that this type of rickshaw exists only in that specific place.

Answer 1

The Schwebebahn in Wuppertal, Germany is a suspension railway first opened in 1901 and still in operation as a regular mass transit system.

Each train can carry around 120 passengers, and a one-way ticket is 2.40 EUR. During rush hours there is one train every 3-4 minutes.

There are a handful other (much newer) suspension railway lines in operation in other places, e.g. Memphis and Tokyo.

Answer 2

The Cambodian "bamboo train" is a nifty solution to a once-extensive railway that fell into disrepair during the country's lengthy civil wars. Take two pairs of wheels, plop them on a bamboo frame, tack on a dinky little engine and voila:

(courtesy Noud W on flickr, CC by-nd)

So what do you do when two of them meet? Dismantle the one carrying less cargo, carry it past the other, set it up again and off you go!

Here's a 2006 BBC article on them. There are probably less of these than there used to be now that Cambodia's actually started refurbishing the network though.

Answer 3

In southern Saudi Arabia in an area on the top of few mountains which has a very unique and complicated terrain, people need a unique way of traveling between villages of that area. This is how (Fifa'a) looks like:

And this is how they travel from one village to another, or from one mountain to another:

These are local made cable cars, I have no Idea how do they make it.. but they do. I wouldn't dare to be inside one of these..

BTW, Until around 100 years ago or so this area was totally isolated due to its nature. People lived there without going to the outside world for hundred of years. That's why this is the only area in Saudi Arabia which has its own language and not Arabic.

Answer 4

I'm not sure whether you are looking for amusing unusual or just plain unusual. But here it goes anyway.

This is the SkyLab(Yes, we really call it skylab and you will see why)

This is basically a motorcycle with a plank of wood balanced across. And if you are wondering why on earth would someone do such a thing outside of X-Games, the answer is poverty tends to make people creative but couple that with a very lowered sense of personal safety and you get the SkyLab™. You will find these at some rural places in the Philippines. There are also some videos in YouTube for this.

P.S. It is called skylab because it looks like the space station from behind. Just picture the horizontal plank as the solar panels of the SkyLab. Here's an image from flickr of the skylab from behind. Note the improvements made on passenger comfort :) http://www.flickr.com/photos/24265223@N04/2743621223/