Young bus observers from French-speaking Switzerland, known as “spotters”, have been complaining about being mocked by parody accounts for several days.image: tl, editing: watson
Internet users who are passionate about public transport are angry. In recent days, a wave of new humorous accounts has swept across social networks, which they accuse of wanting to “ridicule” this activity, which consists of documenting the ordinary daily life of buses. A trend that comes from France and which newcomers admit to being inspired by. We talked about it with both camps. Attempt to explain.
“We’re being made to look like we’re mentally ill!”, “We’re going to get pissed!”, “Don’t you have anything else to do but make fun?” Against all odds, loving public transport very much is a dangerous sport. We’re not talking about going under axles or getting a mirror caught in your face. Since Tuesday, around ten real French-speaking enthusiasts have expressed their discontent and feel they have been flouted.
In a few hours, around ten people will find themselves on an imaginary octagon. To fight it out.
Because “clever kids” would have fun creating parody accounts on social networks. They are accused of wanting to “make fun” of authentic “bus spotters”.
A “spotter”? He is a master of observation and tracking. A term that dates back to World War II, when an English network was tasked with monitoring the skies and keeping an eye out for German bombers. Obviously, everything is “spottable”, from planes to trains, including metros. The “bus spotter”, as you will have understood, is a bus observer. A different kind of groupie. A paparazzi who flushes out Trolley Hess LighTram 19DCs and leaves Britney Spears alone.
In practice, this involves photographing public transport vehicles, before sharing your findings on social networks. A seemingly harmless passion, but which has created a surprising “bus war” in French-speaking Switzerland. On Tuesday, several fans in the Lausanne region noticed that a series of new players had joined the community.
“Three or four accounts at the same time. At first, we thought they were just new enthusiasts. But we quickly realized that they didn’t care about us.”
A “bus spotter” from French-speaking Switzerland, who was called on Wednesday afternoon.
To be as certain, our “spotter” refers us to the tone used by what he calls “false enthusiasts”. One of the first newcomers published a video on April 20 in which we see an M1 train hurtling “at full speed into Crochy”. It’s difficult, it’s true, not to see it as a good ironic charge, as the appearance of the machine is nothing like the takeoff of a Space X rocket.
Once on Instagram, you don’t need to pull out your headlamp to come across four accounts created in April 2024, all cast in the same mold: @Fan.de.bus_2024, @passion_transports_lausanne, @passion_bus_riviera, @passion_bus_geneve. Each time, photos and videos that exaggerate the point and grant our brave buses powers that they will never have.
A parody? Humor, in any case. Recently, a fifth prankster appeared. Called passion_spotters, it is content to feature so-called fanatics that it would have caught in the act. This time, the irony is obvious.
Up to the emoji.
“The imposture is blatant, because the photos are not credible. We don’t work like that. On one of them, someone is lying near the metro rails, it’s dangerous”
Our “spotter” for the Lausanne region, at the end of the line.
In another photo from the parody account @passion_spotters, we see the photographer on the shoulders of a colleague, “for the angle”, specifies the caption.
The start of the “war”
After several publications from newcomers, the French-speaking community decided to react. Rhythmically, several “bus spotters” voiced their rant(s), in Instagram stories full of screenshots and grievances.
“This trend makes the entire community look like weirdos, while the majority are not”
“It would be nice if these accounts jumped. This little game is really ridiculous”
To make matters worse, the incriminated accounts quickly gained weight, sometimes exceeding the number of subscribers of French-speaking “spotters”. Is there a little jealousy in the air? “No. We’re not here to follow a trend or aim for likes. We simply share our discoveries with people who have the same passion as us.”
What offends our interlocutor is the “easy criticism”, especially in a field sometimes considered “out of date” and which does not use the same trappings as fashionable influencers.
“Liking public transport is less obvious and less popular than football or cars. A passion that is already difficult to defend on a daily basis, so when we are disrespected, it’s a bit sad.
On the other end of the phone, our young enthusiast admits to us that he hasn’t been the most angry of the group, even if he’s not the type to let himself be “stepped on.” Some fans “got into trouble” with the jokers, “in private messages”.
The response will be quick. On Wednesday morning, the four incriminated accounts will compile the accusations against them, in a video where “they try to pass themselves off as victims”, says our French-speaking “spotter”. To find out, we contacted the person behind the enigmatic @passion_transports_lausanne, privately, on Instagram.
In writing, he confirms the “humorous” emphasis of his publications, but swears to us “that there was no bad intention behind the creation of the account” and did not expect that the account “would take such a magnitude, so quickly.”
“It is obvious that my posts are humorous videos intended for a general audience, and not specialized posts intended for enthusiasts. Anyone with a minimum of discernment could understand it. I wouldn’t even say it’s a parody of spotters, because no spotters produce content of this type.”
The owner of the account @passion_transports_lausanne
Does he want to “ridicule the real spotters”?
“Being myself a fan of the metro and train networks, particularly in Paris, I have no interest in ridiculing real enthusiasts”
Transports publics lausannois (TL), whose official page is one of the subscribers, got wind of this “war”. Did they stupidly fall into the trap? Alexandra Gindroz, from the press service, confirms to us that her teams have spotted these new challengers and are now monitoring their activities: “Because we know the community of spotters well, with whom we have an excellent relationship.”
“For TL, following these accounts that have recently appeared on Instagram is part of our monitoring work. The practice is booming and certain videos have had a significant audience”
Alexandra Gindroz, from the TL press service.
Enthusiasts regularly communicate with community managers from French-speaking transport companies: “They know that we love their buses and things are going pretty well. Sometimes, official accounts even share our photos on their feed, it also gives them a little publicity,” explains the spotter from the Lausanne region. On the other hand, not all bus drivers necessarily like to see their photos on spotter accounts, so we are careful that we cannot recognize them.”
This is confirmed by Alexandra Gindroz, specifying that the TL are also attentive to “potentially dangerous behavior”.
It must be said that this community has gained muscle in our little corner of the country: “In Lausanne, Geneva or Neuchâtel, there are around ten young people operating and things are going very well between us, we exchange a lot.” Surprise, these public transport enthusiasts are between “14 and 21 years old” and some dream of becoming a bus driver. Is this the case for this 14-year-old “spotter” from the Lausanne region? “Yes, perhaps, that’s an option,” says the one who has “already had the opportunity to visit the TL premises.”
“They are impressive! They are fine connoisseurs of our vehicles, down to the smallest detail, from the model, to the technical sheet, to the serial number”
Alexandra Gindroz, from the TL press service.
This strange “bus war” was born in France
The trend is not new and the French-speaking jokers have not invented anything. For many weeks, French cities have been invaded by new “spotter” accounts, easily identifiable on Instagram. Just type “passion_bus” in the search bar to understand the extent of the phenomenon. And, among our neighbors, certain initiatives benefit from a crazy audience, like @passion_bus_paris, which attracted more than 7,000 subscribers in a few days.
As in French-speaking Switzerland, the discontent is rife: “If it’s to make fun of real enthusiasts, I don’t see that in a very good light”will admit the “spotter” @TerminatorIDFM to a journalist from France 3 Paris Île-de-France, on April 17. The person behind the French-speaking account @passion_transports_lausanne will tell us herself that she was inspired by the French wave: “I thought it would be fun to make a similar account for Lausanne”.
For the record, in France, the joke is already going well, since some people have fun pretending to be fanatics of benches, poles or roundabouts. Imagine, for example, that the adventures of @passion_banc_poitiers, an account also created in April 2024, are followed by nearly 15,000 subscribers: “First the buses, then the benches, I can’t take it anymore”we still read in the article of France 3 Paris Île-de-France.
Screenshot of the @passion_banc_poitiers account.
In Switzerland, we are not there yet. But it won’t be long, since Romandy is never the last to jump on the… bandwagon, when it comes to riding French trends.
We count the points
So what? Are we dealing with enthusiasts who are a bit touchy or jokers who are a bit mocking? Probably a bit of both. Whether we like it or not, the Internet remains this temple of nonsense and crude humor. And appearing in public, even by posting a photo of a Hess LighTram 19DC Trolley, is like coming out of a bubble. On the other hand, humor is a device that is not always easy to operate and can cause injuries.
For his part, @passion_transports_lausanne judges “regrettable that some individuals do not perceive the second degreewhich unfortunately can lead to hatred and disdain towards the spotter community, which I regret and which was obviously not the objective.
The mother of the young spotter, to whom we also made a quick phone call, will have understood this through this adventure: “Well, you know! It’s always like that, with social networks.”
