Beyond just riding the bus: The dynamics of public transport
with Louise Sträuli
From pandemic-era travel to navigating without a ticket, public transport is a battleground for belonging. Louise Sträuli (Tallinn University, Estonia) explores how passengers negotiate differences, challenge norms, and redefine what it means to be "public" in these mobile spaces. We reveal the hidden struggles and the resilience of those who rely on public transport.
Episode based on the article
Negotiating Difference on Public Transport: How Practices and Experiences of Deviance Shape Public Space
By Louise Sträuli
Recommended Materials
- Mobile exhibition 'Rabbits and Rails', a compilation of some of the research findings put together by the author and colleagues from the PUTSPACE Project.
- On the topic of fare evasion in Brussels, the author recommends two papers, found here and here.
- Since 2019, the author has worked with Aleksandra Ianchenko on exploring the diversity and encounters on public transport. Her artistic work captures the fleetingness of encounters and proximity of passengers on public transport.
About the Speaker
Louise Sträuli is an urban researcher and PhD student at Tallinn University and the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Her dissertation examines public transport and mobility justice using the example of fare-free public transport policies in Tallinn (Estonia) and fare evasion in Brussels (Belgium). She is interested in the tensions between everyday mobility practices and experiences and top-down mobility regimes with a focus on gender, care work, and fare policy using qualitative methods.