Local Photographer Showcases Bus Stop Stories

No matter where you live, the people make the city. And if you frequent public transportation, you likely know all too well the kinds of characters and conversations one might encounter simply waiting for the bus.

A University of New Mexico graduate has started a successful photo essay blog called Albuquerque Bus Stops: An Ethnography. In the blog, its author, Ron—a resident of the area since 1999—interviews everyday Albquerquians at bus stops throughout the city.

On the about page for the site, the author explains his inspiration for the project:

Bus stops in Albuquerque, like cracks in a sidewalk, are a sort of interstitial space into which dust, muck, and grime tend to accumulate.  In this way they are different here than in many other cities—and in many other countries—where public transportation may not be a stigma of class and status.  

Taken together, bus stops in Albuquerque are far more than determined areas for buses to stop, pick up, and drop off passengers.  They are choke points of uneven human development, and microcosms of anarchy.  They are the uncovered manholes of a vast and intriguing cultural underworld. They are amphitheatres of modern tragedy and comedy. 

They are the lifeline of a city that often wishes to believe otherwise.  They are as far away as the wars of central Africa, and they are right across the street.

To read the Albuquerque Bus Stops blog, click here.