PAYNESVILLE – On a sunny day at Red Light Commercial Market in Paynesville, just outside Monrovia, Christine Moses makes her rounds, calling for passengers with a slogan usually used by ‘car boys’, “Sinkor, in Town, Sinkor in town,” as passengers rush to fill her red twenty-two-seated passenger bus, for which she serves as a conductor, or colloquially termed a “car girl.”
Being a car girl in Liberia is rare, but Christine is one of the few women brave enough to serve as conductors for buses or riders of tricycles, known as Kehkeh, or cab drivers, despite the fear of robbery by highway bandits.
“I stopped in the 11th grade because I wasn’t doing anything, so I took it upon myself to look for this job, and I’ve been working as a car girl for over six months now,” she said during a brief interview on the bus from Red Light to Monrovia.
Christine, a single mother, explained that her work as a car girl significantly helps her provide for her two children, who are not currently attending school. During the interview, a female passenger expressed her preference for female car girls, stating, “I prefer women car-girls because they are not as hostile as the male carboys, who show no respect for older people.”
Not ashamed of her job, Christine emphasized that it provides an honest living. “My friends who don’t want to do anything for themselves may laugh at me and call me a ‘car girl,’ but I invite them to join me and make a living for themselves,” she said. “I am proud of working as a car girl and making an honest living, rather than living the risky and dangerous life of a street girl.”
Addressing the challenges she faces as a female conductor, Christine noted that one main challenge is passengers refusing to pay the correct transportation fare. “They know that the fare from Red Light to Monrovia is L$100.00 (US$0.50), but some of them will only want to pay L$70 or L$80,” she explained. “When I ask them for the correct fare, they may start arguing with me, but eventually, I collect the remaining money from them.”
Regarding her earnings, Christine mentioned that her boss treats her well and pays her fairly. “We usually make five trips a day, and although business isn’t good every day, on good days, I can earn L$10,000 or L$11,000 (US$50) at the end of the day,” she said. “That money really helps me and my children.”
Looking ahead, Christine expressed her intention to return to high school in the next academic year, as she believes she will have saved enough money by then to send herself and her children back to school.
