The following is a series of photos either of buses here in Belo Horizonte, of scenes on the buses themselves, or of scenes that I took of people on the street while riding on the bus. My method was sort of spy-camera-esque, sneaking shots when no one was expecting them. Buses are a huge part of the culture in BH. There are several different categories of routes, with dozens of buses running each route. There are buses that cross the entire city from one outlying neighborhood to another. There are those that only operate within the center of the city. There are routes that travel from neighboring small towns to the center of the city and back again. Finally there are those that go from one neighboring town to the next. I'm sure there are more, I just haven't discovered them. There must be thousands of people that use the bus everyday here. I don't know any exact statistics (once I find out where to find good statistics on anything I'll make sure I put them here for your enlightenment), but bus-riders are everywhere you look. It's definitely a significant part of the culture. Trips can take up to an hour for many, making a total daily commute of around two hours depending on where someone lives and works. Some routes can be as full as interdorm cambuses at UI (or worse) for up to half the route, 20-30 minutes or so. As an American you really have to shrink your personal bubble (and hold on for dear life!). Anyways, I hope you enjoy this little exhibition of some of my latest work.
Incoming bus to the Estação Barreiro in Barreiro, dusk
Guy listening to music on the 4111 bus headed toward downtown
Same dude
Downtown street scene, Rua das Amazonas
Traffic jam, Rua das Amazonas, between Coração Eucarístico and Barro Preto
Small street bar downtown
On bus 9410 just before my stop in Coração Eucarístico
This is less here to be beautiful, more to be like "holy crap, they actually have these here too?!"
Instead of putting money in a counter next to the driver, in Brazil there sits a person just behind the driver (the
trocador, literally "the change person") that collects riders' money and allows them to pass through a turn-sty. With all the people that can crowd onto buses, this speeds up transit time, as the driver doesn't have to wait for each rider to pay before starting off again.
Here's another
trocador, on the 4111 bus in the Padre Eustáquio neighborhood
A truck laden with bricks waits next to the 9410 on its way downtown
My reflection in the plate glass barrier just in front of the exit in the back of the bus
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