A year ago, Kayla Bledsoe sold her car. Now, the bus and her bike take her everywhere she needs to go. So when Marissa Byers, her friend and a fellow writer, presented the idea of a zine called “The People We Meet on the Bus,” they formed a partnership to bring the idea to life.

Despite the title, the zine is a community art project that celebrates art inspired by all forms of public transportation. The zine will be a compilation of poetry, photography, visual art and more. Bledsoe and Byers are accepting submissions online for the first edition until Jan. 31. They also plan to host pop-up events where people can create pieces to submit. 

“What I’m looking for is the moments of joy and connection that are in some way captured,” said Bledsoe, a 25-year-old Butler-Tarkington resident. They want submissions to be approachable and encourage sharing authentic experiences with transit. 

Byers and Bledsoe plan to submit their work as well. Bledsoe, who also volunteers as a transit ambassador for IndyGo, will share the stories of people she has met on the bus: People who started as strangers, but a shared route and routine brought them together. Sometimes, though, routines change.

“That might be something that I write about, kind of that loss that you feel when your acquaintance or your steady person you see every morning is no longer there,” said Byers, 27, who lives in Broad Ripple. She said her interactions with fellow commuters have “developed a real friendship that has transcended the bus into online and other spaces.”

Once the compilation is complete, the zine will have a digital archive online and a print version Bledsoe and Byers plan to distribute in bookstores and library branches around the city. They hope to publish the zine in the fall and celebrate with a showcase all contributors will be invited to.