Ticos are everywhere in Arequipa - but for how long?
There are officially more that 10,000 Ticos in Arequipa city, but according to one driver I spoke to there are maybe 16,000.
It sounds like an incredible number, but Arequipa is a large city and many people use the cheap taxis instead of having their own car. Everywhere you go you can see and hear the Ticos.
Ticos are small cars made by Daewoo in Korea. They were particularly popular in Peru as they were cheap to buy and run, as well as small and efficient, which is great for a city like Arequipa with many old, narrow streets.
Ticos with their company names on top!
Most of the Ticos you can see in Arequipa are working as taxis and are often painted yellow to identify that they are taxis. As you can see in these photos, they usually have big signs on top with their company name and lots of red and white tape!
Many Ticos have been customised by their drivers with stickers, slogans or even modifications to the bodywork to make them more cool!
But times are changing in Peru, more people have their own car and people expect better and safer cars. Many of these Ticos are quite old, and driving up and down the streets of Arequipa has shaken them to bits! So these old Ticos are gradually being replaced with other models like the Daewoo Matiz and other larger saloon cars.
Newer cars are replacing the Ticos.
Although newer and more comfortable models are replacing the Ticos, the Taxis will still have lots of character with the drivers customising them with stickers, sirens and installing shrines with the ‘Taxi drivers prayer’ on the dashboards!
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daewoo_Tico
