While photographing areas of public transport is insanely fun due to the composition cheats they offer, a personal Hell of mine is every actually using public transport. Even a taxi is something I avoid with all my being. Back in England, in London I would walk everywhere. Trains are overpriced and unreliable. The bus is the most depressing space on Earth, full of the weirdest imaginable characters you could find and would prefer to avoid. I loathe the bus. Roaming Istanbul for the past two weeks has been a very different type of Hell, however. Everything I hate about public transportation turned to eleven. Here in Istanbul, some credit cards can be used on the public transport, but for the most part, you have to buy a specific transport card for Istanbul, much like you'd use your Oyster card in London back in the day before we all realised it's fucking stupid and your debit card is enough. Not here, though. You have to buy the card, and it costs 70 Lira. From there, you have to register it or you are capped at only 500 Lira on it. After that? Well, fuck you. Buy another card. And sure, you can top it up every now and then in bus stations or train stations, but it'll only accept cash unless you're lucky enough to find one that accepts card. Utterly dysfunctional. Want to register it? You'll need a government approved ID number.
Anyway, I despise the idea of public transport. The chaos of people cramming themselves against each other like cattle, the lack of air conditioning, or the far too intense air conditioning that spreads the very noticeable lack of hygiene throughout the vehicle for all to enjoy. The sudden slamming of the brakes that send people flying through the vehicle with little to cling to. And this doesn't even take into consideration the utter boredom of standing/sitting, waiting for your miserable wagon of suffering to arrive and ship you off to the next one. Providing it does even arrive or one time. And I hope you enjoy your smashed bus stops, piss covered train stations with gum attached to the seats; the weird beggar that won't fuck off and only makes people feel more uneasy.
I have always felt this hatred to public transportation. It's the most degrading experience in our modern lives. And none of us want it. Only leading to everyone being far more miserable and selfish during the commute as they desperately can't wait for the second their feet touch the Earth again. Good luck, if you're getting on transport in a dense city. Traffic, car horns, odd folk trying to talk to you. I can remember why back in England I opted for just walking everywhere. And sure, a car may seem ideal, but in a city it's only really a similar experience, a different form of Hell as you sit idle in your throne of supposed luxury, only to end up screaming at others, stuck in traffic, or curling your car around a streetlight, somehow. And yes, I saw that today also.