Cropped from this photo.
As you should be aware, this Wednesday the 11th of November is the second annual Eleven Bus day on which people are invited to join Jon Bounds for all or part of his 11 hour journey starting at 11am on the Number 11 bus traveling around the Birmingham Outer Circle bus route. I was unable to join in last year but this year my diary is clear and I am ready.
If you’re a long-time reader of this blog you might remember my attempt to write a travel guide to the Outer Circle which failed before I’d even got past the sketching stage because I was thinking too big. Thankfully Jon’s given me a framework to reign things in with – I only have 11 hours on one day to produce something. So here’s what I plan to do.
Wikipedia says there are 272 bus stops on the 11 route. This is a little misleading. In fact there are 280 bus stops, 140 pointing one way and 140 pointing the other. I know this because I counted them on the rather excellent Network West Midlands Live Travel Map.
The 11 timetable says there’s a bus every 10+ minutes during the day and every 20 minutes after 6pm. If start at 11am this gives me 82 busses to play with. I may start earlier though for light reasons.
I’d like to use this opportunity to study the bus stops themselves but in fitting 140 into one day is impossible and some of them are so close that getting the bus from one to another would be a little absurd. (Yes, I intend to do this project by bus. No walking.) So I got my trusty old A-Z map, last seen in 2006 when I was trying to figure out the Outer Circle, and stuck alternating colours where each stop is:
You’ll notice there’s a fair bit of bunching which seems to correspond to the density of population, which makes sense. And many of the stops sit in pairs, such as here in Handsworth:
So skipping every other stop wouldn’t be too much of a problem. And, it occured to me, next year I can go the other way stopping at the stops I missed the year.
The plan, then, is to travel around the Outer Circle by bus only (no walking) visiting every other bus stop along the route. I will spend at least 10 minutes at each stop where I will do the following:
- Take one TTV photo of the bus stop. This will be a portrait showing how it sits in its environment.
- Standing at the bus stop, take at least 6 (normal) photographs of interesting things visible from it.
- Record one minute of ambient audio.
- Make any notes that occur to me while waiting for the next bus.
- Photograph the next bus as it approaches
Since this is a predominantly photographic project, available light will be an issue. I’d rather not take a tripod but it might be necessary for the final stretch. To minimise this I’m planning on starting at 7.30am, 15 minutes after sunrise, when there should be enough light.
Seventy bus stops (remember, I’m getting off at every other stop) with a bus coming every 10 minutes will take 11h40m to complete. I’m assuming that the rush hour will provide me with more busses speeding things up at bit but even so I’ll need to complete the project by 4pm, giving me 8h30m or seven minutes per stop. It’s potentially doable but I still have to take the tripod just in case.
And now I’m thinking maybe I’ll just start at 11am anyway which will get me to Perry Barr around sunset so that half the circle is in light and half in dark. That’d be interesting.
Let me think about that for a bit.
Anyway, once I’ve done this I have a few ideas on how to present it. Obviously everything’s going online but it’d be nice to do some kind of exhibition. How one goes about such things when one isn’t a Capital-A-Artist, I have no idea.
If you’ve got a couple of free hours on Wednesday to join Jon on the 11 bus please do. It promises to be a most illuminating experience. All the details you need are on the Eleven Bus site.
How exciting! Will you be tweeting where you are? I can come out in Kings Heath and take a pic of you taking a pic of the bus stop, if you’d like?
I think you’ll definitely need the tripod. I have my fingers crossed for good (or at least interesting) weather.
P.S. Scout for galleries or other likely-looking spaces along the route which might make a good location for a display. Churches and community halls are also good locations for exhibitions. Also, you’ll end up talking to people along the route. Ask them about the aspects you’re unsure about (the exhibition, publishing it into a small book).
You’re a loony, a brilliant one — hope to catch up you at some point(s) during the day,
Kerry from Fused was prodding me to do an exhibition of 11-11-11 stuff, but I fell at the “er how, who, when” hurdle too.
Maybe an exhibition of all things 11 on 11/11/11…
I look forward to seeing the results of this adventure Pete –
the only key hurdle I can forsee offering disruption to your VERY thorough and considered planning is the classic – “there are none for ages then three come at once” scenario, which (this may not be entirely true) was I trend invented by the No 11 many many years ago!!
@Lizzy: The chances of me tweeting are, shall well say, somewhat inevitable. (I might also try sending photos direct to Flickr with Geo data in them so a map is built during the day. Or I might not.)
@Jeremy: Good plan, though I tend towards the taciturn…
@Jon: Pot, kettle, black. Actually, seeing the stuff at The Event is what promoted me to think “we could do this” and Kerry was heavily involved with that. Will ask her.
@Mark: That’s where the extra 12 busses come into play, plus I’m assuming there will be more between 4 and 7 for the rush hour. It’ll all even out. I hope.
Pete, Pure brilliant … wishing you great luck! Will be following your tweets tomorrow.
How about using the No 11 route bus stops as the exhibition space? Talk to the bus companies Marketing Department first of all. That way you take the exhibition to the people instead of people to a venue. Have you told the BBC or Radio stations so they can promote it too? I can help you put the proposal together (what I do when not nattering on about Pesky People
How about also documenting people enroute getting their stories too – their thoughts, words / comments / art work doodled in a book that describes the route or what it means to them and the area around them? Will you be taking your laptop – maybe they can be adding comments live online? Then again if you are doing it alone that is a lot of equipment to carry/use (thinking of your safety too).
Is there a way of filming the whole route from a bus driver’s point of view or a passengers? Can screen with parts speeded up/slowed down. Using audioboo (assuming you have an iphone) will generate great 3 minute soundbites from people as well as the landscape sounds around?
Good luck tomorrow looking forward to seeing the images.
You said you were aiming to get to Perry Barr around sunset? That’s my local 11 stop and I’d love to get involved somehow (taking a picture of you taking pictures…).
I have other things on during the day so I can’t do much else, but I should be free (and coincidentally in the area) around 5ish if that’s any use? I look forward to following your progress on twitter!
(PS doing something bit on 11/11/11 sort of imposes itself, doesn’t it? We have two years to plan it…)
When will someone document how easy it is to buy a Cadbury’s Twirl in the vicinity of an 11 bus stop?
Or for that matter the sneezes that have occurred there?
@Pesky – While I love you ideas the thing is I’m really shit and talking to strangers unless they talk to me first so I figure I’m best working within my limits. Others can, and I’m sure will, gather the stories from along the route and I’d love to see it done but I’m gonna stick with hiding behind my viewfinder!
@Richard – I’m going to try and tweet from each stop, or at least the main ones. I have this idea of sending a geotagged photo to a Flickr set so a map emerges but that depends on how much time I have to set it up. But yes, do come along!
@Peter – I haven’t wanted to buy a Twirl in an age so I have no idea what the status here is. The sneezes sounds like a project in and of itself – get to it.
It just occured to me I haven’t scheduled in any toilet breaks. Erk.
Hurray! I was a bit disappointed when this didn’t come to fruition a couple of years ago. Looking forward to it.
I live at the stop where Maryvale road crosses Linden road. If you get off at that stop and need a loo (and I’m in) tweet me. If the schedule allows you can have a cuppa as well. Surely there are others on the 11 route able to offer facilities as well?
Oh yes, I’m near where it crosses Alcester Rd so can run out with a cuppa if you’d like if I get enough warning. Where are you starting?
Wrap up warm. Take a flask. And look out for those bus stops – sometimes they whizz by and you miss them and then your blues would be reds and vice versa and it’d be all to cock.
PS. PeterF says the 11 route is shaped like Australia. You just need to take a toilet break in tropical Queensland (east of Erdington?) to get that northern blip on the map.
@Dave – I’ll only be an hour in by then so probably not necessary but should I make a tea miscalculation in the morning I may well take you up on the offer.
@Lizzy – I’ll be hitting Alcester Rd right at the end of the day (I’m staring in Stirchley and going clockwise) so prob not though you never know.
@Fi – Having stuck bits of sticky tape on each one they’re rather seared on my brain. Don’t think I’ll be missing any. ;)
@pesky — 11 route filum: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEuXRmgQAoc