Bus Therapy

Bus stops can be harbingers of anger and joy. The frustration caused by the ‘lack of a bus’ can seal a bond between waiting passengers which can erupt in therapeutic conversations. Bus stops also facilitate meetings between familiars and strangers.

Two people wait for the arrival of a bus, Commercial Road 1990

The man below seems unlikely to begin a conversation with fellow passengers and is firmly focused on the arrival of the bus.

Man sitting on a bollard next to a bus stop, Commercial Street 1986

The passengers waiting for the bus in Dhaka (below) have to negotiate mud before they get on the bus. Despite this, getting on and off a bus in Dhaka is quite a well organised affair designed to maximise the number of passengers carried.

People waiting at a bus stop in Dhaka, Bangladesh 2009

Two passengers jump off the 38 bus, Hackney 1998

Passengers alighting from a 'long distance' bus, Bangladesh 2009

Two people wait for a bus in Whitechapel market, London 2009

Finally the magnificently attired lady below caught my eye as I was cycling in Aldgate. As soon as I saw her I got off my bike (which can be seen on the right of the photograph) in order to photograph her. I shot two frames, one of which has already been used in an earlier blog .

I must have been standing directly in front of her for about 30 seconds. She was oblivious to my presence, possibly because she was looking for the bus to come around the corner! After shooting my two frames I cycled home to process the film which contained work for the Local Government Chronicle. As usual it was my spontaneous street photography which I was eager to see rather than the commissioned work. Typically it was a case of largely boring paid assignments subsidising my documentary and experimental work.

Lady waiting at a temporary bus stop, Aldgate 1988