Bus Station

Essay fragment for Human Rights and Travel Photography: Oana Maroti

If you are a migrant worker, travel is an inherent part of the experience, and you will spend many hours of your life waiting at bus stations.

Inter-country contracts, often arranged through agencies, frequently provide only a one-way bus ticket. I have made many such journeys by coach—trips that typically lasted two nights. Bus stations and terminals can sometimes be bizarre places. These images show a modernized North Station.

Waiting doesn't have to be an ordeal for the traveler; it depends on the station's infrastructure. A station can be designed with inclusivity in mind, where access to basic comforts—as well as inclusive communication and courteous guidance—is a given. 

I found that tourist information services in Barcelona and the surrounding areas are abysmal. It reminds me of the Ceaușescu era, when people were singled out based on their appearance—deciding whom to serve and whom to mislead.