People Of Public Transit

December 17, 2009 6:14 AM

People Of Public Transit
I'd like to hear what the MeFi community has to say. All comments welcome! I created People Of Public Transit in October 2009. The public bus and subway systems are littered with amazing photo opportunities. Many of us have been sitting alone witnessing something amazing and only wishing we could share the experience with our friends. Well now you can with People of Public Transit!
posted by John-Michael (8 comments total)

Not feeling it. It needs a better editorial process. It's funny if it's a quirky hat or shorts and long socks during winter, or werewolf or monkey heads. I didn't think it was funny to post pictures of fat people, or people who may have mental impairment issues, or who have ill-fitting clothing on. I guess I'm being prude-tastic but a lot of people don't understand the internet, and just because they had to use public transportation and aren't looking their best doesn't mean they want to get laughed at by the internet, for all time. Even these two. Your site, though.

I'd much rather visit public transit photos that were sweet, cute and/or touching, with accompanying stories of something that happened. For instance, it would be much more compelling to me to read a caption about how a woman ran at top speed and dove onto the train and see a picture of an old woman with a sun dress on, than laugh at a fat lady with a too short shirt.
posted by cashman at 6:33 AM on December 17, 2009

"Even these two".
posted by cashman at 6:37 AM on December 17, 2009

This has been done, but so what?
Every city needs one.
I approve.
posted by lhude sing cuccu at 2:43 PM on December 17, 2009

Yeah I'm with cashman on this one - too much schadenfreude, not enough creativity. For me an amazing photo opportunity means something different than some snap shots of some slightly unusual items of clothing or actions.

For example this flickr user has a fab set of shots from public transport, scenes that aren't just making fun of people.
posted by gomichild at 9:35 PM on December 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

I think some of these are really cool; the coyote, the people wearing costumes or masks. The Smurfs one made me giggle. But making fun of how people look? Kind of not cool.

Also, I'm not sure if you are the one who personally took all these pictures, but this (in my opinion) crosses the line. Seriously, who sits there and takes a picture up a woman's skirt, even if she's sitting that way? Way creepy.
posted by specialagentwebb at 5:23 AM on December 18, 2009

Are all of these pictures user submitted? Or do you harvest them from the web? If so, some credit may be due for the photographers instead of branding them with the POPT logo. For instance I don't think you took this coyote picture, I think someone named Dennis Maxwell did - unless you're Dennis Maxwell?
posted by Think_Long at 8:37 AM on December 18, 2009

I'm with cashman, I find this homeless-person-slamming especially repugnant.
posted by edbles at 10:02 AM on December 18, 2009 [1 favorite]

I think this is exploitative and mean spirited. The people featured in the photos are easy targets for humiliation.
posted by pluckysparrow at 11:17 AM on December 19, 2009 [1 favorite]