Photography ban...?

[Mayneway]

RE: Photography ban...?

(06/03/2016 22:33)Bevan Price Wrote:  I was once asked not to take photos in Wigan Bus Station, but told I could seek a permit to take photos on a prearranged fixed date. However there, and at many other bus stations, I find that the best location to take photos is from a public footpath outside the bus station. Bus stations themselves often have a lot of "clutter" that distracts from the bus photo. At Huyton, I prefer the public footpath between the car park & the bus station as a location for taking photos.

Technically, the operator of a bus (or railway) station can ask you not to take photos, and ask you to leave if you refuse - even if they do not actually own the land, they can be regarded as a tenant / custodian of the site, and can set rules for the site.

Note that at railway stations, you are breaking the law if you refuse to leave when asked by an authorised person. I am not sure of the legal status of bus stations, but they are probably covered by laws dealing with trespass, but it is probably wise to stop taking photos if requeated.

I was also once asked by a bus driver about taking photos - I think for some reason, he might have been concerned about being recognised. However, when I showed him that a driver inside a bus was barely visible, (in photos exposed to show the bus exterior), he became a bit more relaxed.

If your asked to leave a bus station/train station are whoever is asking you to leave not required to give you a reason why?
Legally you can only be moved on if your being anti social in some way ie drunk or being verbally aggressive, simply asking you to leave what is effectively a public space for taking photos isn't to me grounds to be kicked out of somewhere.

There's a post further up the thread where someone is told to move away by a police officer from outside a bus depot. Again they only do this if your being anti social in some way.
A friend of a friend was taking photos of coaches on a bridge over a major motorway a couple of years ago when he was approached by a traffic officer who enquired as to what he was doing. They had a good chat and the officer advised that he may be better off taking photos from the side as potencially he could be a distraction to drivers below.

As for drivers, I think most of the major companies have a zero tolerance to drivers being rude and aggressive to photographers I know of one driver who's as disaplined and sacked for calling a photographer a 'freak', but it seems the majority of drivers arnt bothered at all.