A couple of stations later, this public theatre could be replaced by a bundle of sombre-looking office-goers SSTing – staring, scrolling, typing – on their phones. While earphones are on almost every commuter ear, for many, striking up a conversation, even a passing one, with fellow passengers is camaraderie of a special kind.
Then there is the bliss of taking in the world zipping past outside. The totally disconnected feeling from the goings-on inside can be zen. Stations serve as pauses between songs in this urban album. Watching passengers being disgorged and ingested is like watching a giant sea creature in action.
The metro coach captures the different shades of the city’s humanity, especially as the old ‘people travelling on public/private transport’ divide gets increasingly blurred. Taste the pleasure of being in the thick of city life. Up and down your city’s metro line.
