Birthday of the old bus
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It looked like the day was not going well - I found out about this event the night before, when the whole next day was already planned, and it was impossible to move the upcoming events. So I had to look for at least a small pause so as not to miss the festive run of old buses through the city centre. A total of four buses of different models took part in the festive run. But these buses did not follow one after another, but with an interval of 30 minutes. I could get a chance to see only one of these buses.
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If I had more time at my disposal, I would have gone to Nevsky Prospekt. But under the circumstances, I chose the nearest location - Bolshoy Prospect of Vasilievsky Island. To begin with, I walked along the avenue, choosing the most successful angles for photography. I photographed ordinary buses and trolleybuses, trying to assess how good or bad they would look against the buildings and the boulevard. In the end, I chose a location on the corner of Bolshoi Prospect and First Line, near St Catherine's Lutheran Church.
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I took a few aiming photos, trying to choose the best point to take the photo. The plus and minus of this location was the presence of traffic lights. I could hope that the bus would stop at a red light and I could take a picture of it without rushing - but only if there was no other traffic in front of the bus blocking the view. So I stepped back a bit to check the possibility of photographing the bus while it was turning. But then I noticed that the old bus was already approaching the junction - the time for finding angles was over.
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LIAZ-677 is a Soviet high-floor city bus produced by the Likino Bus Plant. The first prototype of the bus was produced in 1962. It is the most mass model of the plant. Buses of this model were used practically in all cities of the Soviet Union having urban or suburban bus service.
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The bus turned onto the First Line, and headed towards the embankment. The old bus was travelling on a regular city bus route. It stopped at all the bus stops and passengers got on and off. The bus fare was free for birthday. I looked sadly after it and suddenly noticed that a trolleybus (just like the one in one of the first photos) was approaching the nearest stop, and I had time to get on it.
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The next plan formed in my head instantly. If I got on that trolleybus, I would be right behind the old bus, and I would be able to admire it for a while longer. And if I'm lucky, I'll even go a little faster: the whole ride on the old bus was a welcome adventure for many people, and the bus stood at stops for quite a while as people got on and off. I still had about half an hour of free time left, and had time to get through a few stops.
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It worked out that way. I soon overtook the old bus, and was able to meet it once more, at a stop near the Admiralty. I even managed to get inside in time to travel one stop. It was crowded inside. I thought there would be a lot of older people inside, for whom such a ride would be a memory of their youth, but I saw a lot of young faces as well. I received a free paper ticket as a memento of the trip. But it was time for me to stop here. I took one last shot of the departing bus, and headed to my scheduled meeting.
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| Smartphone | Google Pixel 3a |
| Location | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
