New Jersey Transit - Random Thoughts Thread

[553 Bridgeton]

38 minutes ago, jass said:

 

You are saying the mandatory scanning that was implemented Monday has already been stopped?

Yes

[jass]

3 hours ago, 553 Bridgeton said:

Yes

I see the website has been updated to say it wont be done at PABT.

It shouldnt be done anywhere, ever.

[Kingsbridgeviewer382]

So the NJT board voted unanimously in favor of the fare increase. The 15% fare hike will start on July 1st, with a possible 3% increase each year starting in 2025. The Flexpass discount is also set to be eliminated if the fare hike goes through.

https://www.nj.com/news/2024/04/nj-transit-votes-to-raise-fares-15-despite-protests-and-pleas.html

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nj-transit-fare-hike-vote-cost-train-bus/5306713/ Shows the chart with some of the new fare prices.

[Arrow III]

21 hours ago, 553 Bridgeton said:

Welp NJT axed the changing of the fare system and the scanners in the buses. Due to increased dwell times. Ultimately the system will be turned off and the scanners will be useless.

The dwell times was created because that scanner required the red dot to be perfectly on the QR.

For this system to have worked, paper tickets and passes had to be discontinued and replaced with a fare card that could hold your mpass and tickets and you tap without waiting on the red dot 🔴. NJT also refused to change the fare register. Septa has the same readers for use with their fare card and tap pay system. Also the addition of having the option to add your pass to your Apple or Android wallet. 
 

There is an internal memo in all garages about the system being suspended. The front office of NJT needs to be put out of service and they need to clean how with ones who want change. We should not be carrying cash in 2024. 
 

NJT fails again. 

So NJT buys these scanners (which I can't imagine are cheap) and then after less then a year of use, will disable them making them an expensive ornament.  Way to go NJT.  I guess the scanner/ornament is a great symbol for NJT mismanagement and reminds the riders what their 15% fare increase are going towards.

BTW, Suburban's local buses (6148-84) just got the scanners less then a month ago and some drivers like it, some hate it and don't use them at all.

[Lawrence St]

Oh boy!

[553 Bridgeton]

2 hours ago, Arrow III said:

So NJT buys these scanners (which I can't imagine are cheap) and then after less then a year of use, will disable them making them an expensive ornament.  Way to go NJT.  I guess the scanner/ornament is a great symbol for NJT mismanagement and reminds the riders what their 15% fare increase are going towards.

BTW, Suburban's local buses (6148-84) just got the scanners less then a month ago and some drivers like it, some hate it and don't use them at all.

This is njt for you. I actually liked it because it sped up my trips. Njt is a joke and refuses change to the dated fare system. We should be in a one log in system instead of this rdm mess. 

[Lawrence St]

1 hour ago, 553 Bridgeton said:

This is njt for you. I actually liked it because it sped up my trips. Njt is a joke and refuses change to the dated fare system. We should be in a one log in system instead of this rdm mess. 

What’s funny is those fareboxes are from Europe and take a while to get replaced if one breaks lol

[jass]

5 hours ago, Arrow III said:

So NJT buys these scanners (which I can't imagine are cheap) and then after less then a year of use, will disable them making them an expensive ornament.  Way to go NJT.  I guess the scanner/ornament is a great symbol for NJT mismanagement and reminds the riders what their 15% fare increase are going towards.

BTW, Suburban's local buses (6148-84) just got the scanners less then a month ago and some drivers like it, some hate it and don't use them at all.

I assume the tap to pay with a credit card or phone part of the scanners will still be enabled.

Its scanning the QR code on a bus that made zero sense because the driver visually verifying it was many times faster and just as good in terms of revenue collection.

Scanning only works in a proof-of-payment environment where people are either scanning before boarding or at multiple places inside the bus or rail vehicle.

 

[Arrow III]

1 hour ago, jass said:

I assume the tap to pay with a credit card or phone part of the scanners will still be enabled.

Its scanning the QR code on a bus that made zero sense because the driver visually verifying it was many times faster and just as good in terms of revenue collection.

Scanning only works in a proof-of-payment environment where people are either scanning before boarding or at multiple places inside the bus or rail vehicle.

 

I think the QR code is to verify the ticket is legit and not a screenshot.  But the color and flashing bar at the bottom already verify that.  It's kind of redundant I guess.

[46Dover]

16 hours ago, 553 Bridgeton said:

We should be in a one log in system instead of this rdm mess. 

It used to be that once you signed on with the RDM, it automatically signed the Clever Device on too.  Wonder why they stopped

[JAzumah]

16 hours ago, Arrow III said:

I think the QR code is to verify the ticket is legit and not a screenshot.  But the color and flashing bar at the bottom already verify that.  It's kind of redundant I guess.

It also gives NJT a snapshot of how their services are being used. They could target the segments with more usage with more service.

[Cait Sith]

On 4/8/2024 at 8:43 AM, Lawrence St said:

NJT screwed up the entire tracking system when they redid it a few months ago. It’s now impossible to tell where anything is unless you use my bus, and even that is difficult to use because the GUI looks like it’s from 2004.

It's not exactly their fault. The maintainer of the philly tracker site has to update their stuff as well, which they haven't.

 

On 4/10/2024 at 12:09 PM, 553 Bridgeton said:

Welp NJT axed the changing of the fare system and the scanners in the buses. Due to increased dwell times. Ultimately the system will be turned off and the scanners will be useless.

The dwell times was created because that scanner required the red dot to be perfectly on the QR.

For this system to have worked, paper tickets and passes had to be discontinued and replaced with a fare card that could hold your mpass and tickets and you tap without waiting on the red dot 🔴. NJT also refused to change the fare register. Septa has the same readers for use with their fare card and tap pay system. Also the addition of having the option to add your pass to your Apple or Android wallet. 
 

There is an internal memo in all garages about the system being suspended. The front office of NJT needs to be put out of service and they need to clean how with ones who want change. We should not be carrying cash in 2024. 
 

NJT fails again. 

That, and people have no clue how to use it properly.

I've scanned my card on it a few times and it sometimes doesnt even register, the op let me on anyway. The scanner also got one of my cards blacklisted.

[jass]

7 hours ago, JAzumah said:

It also gives NJT a snapshot of how their services are being used. They could target the segments with more usage with more service.

Isnt there a log button on the fare boxes for this?

[553 Bridgeton]

19 hours ago, Cait Sith said:

It's not exactly their fault. The maintainer of the philly tracker site has to update their stuff as well, which they haven't.

 

That, and people have no clue how to use it properly.

I've scanned my card on it a few times and it sometimes doesnt even register, the op let me on anyway. The scanner also got one of my cards blacklisted.

This is a biggest issue, a lot of people’s card get blacklisted, but I think that’s a bank issue thinking it’s a fraud purchase. 
 

On 4/11/2024 at 3:06 PM, jass said:

I assume the tap to pay with a credit card or phone part of the scanners will still be enabled.

Its scanning the QR code on a bus that made zero sense because the driver visually verifying it was many times faster and just as good in terms of revenue collection.

Scanning only works in a proof-of-payment environment where people are either scanning before boarding or at multiple places inside the bus or rail vehicle.

 

They need to ditch the paper passes and tickets this would have stopped all that nonsense. They need to get on board with fare cards. 

[Lex]

1 hour ago, 553 Bridgeton said:

They need to ditch the paper passes and tickets this would have stopped all that nonsense. They need to get on board with fare cards. 

I'd go one step further and say the fare cards really need to be compatible with OMNY and SEPTA Key, given the various interstate connections.

[MNR Beacon Line]

Even a fare card doesn't work well with the NJT zone system.

Say I have a one-zone ticket and a two-zone ticket both loaded onto my fare card. I board the bus and tap. How does it know how which ticket to use?

If the answer is "tell the driver which ticket to use," that's not going to work in the real world. If you are boarding a bus at Port Authority do you expect a line of 40 people to all state the number of zones they're going? It will delay boarding just as bad or worse as the scanning thing.

Mobile tickets are OK because you choose which one to activate before boarding. But forcing people to use a cell phone doesn't sit right with me. Sometimes I need to take the bus and my phone is dead.

The people running NJT are morons and I doubt that they thought any of this through. So the implementation of the fare card will be interesting to watch.

[nightmare402]

The 119's that stop at JSQ are labeled 119J

[nightmare402]

[B35 via Church]

8 hours ago, nightmare402 said:

The 119's that stop at JSQ are labeled 119J

...but yet the #163's that short turn at GSP Mall have no suffix; go figure.... It would be one thing if GSP mall was a part of the regular #163 route to Ridgewood Terminal, but it isn't.....

JSQ, OTOH, was always a part of the #119 before the construction at JSQ, so to append a temporary suffix for that, **shrugs**....

[DCTransitFilms]

1 hour ago, nightmare402 said:

funny enough that same 119 got lost in NY going to the Lincoln Tunnel. Ended up at 25th Street & 11th Ave

[nightmare402]

that same nice saw this 119 with 190 sign 

[B35 via Church]

54 minutes ago, DCTransitFilms said:

funny enough that same 119 got lost in NY going to the Lincoln Tunnel. Ended up at 25th Street & 11th Ave

Feel sorry for the poor guy/girl..... I would've helped out with getting him/her back to PABT if I was on that bus.... Too many pax in those situations either get worried/panicky or start cursing out the b/o & it tends to piss me off....

Edited April 14 by B35 via Church

[N6 Limited]

New PANYNJ Bus Terminal Replacement plans

 

 

[Lawrence St]

On 4/14/2024 at 11:24 AM, B35 via Church said:

Feel sorry for the poor guy/girl..... I would've helped out with getting him/her back to PABT if I was on that bus.... Too many pax in those situations either get worried/panicky or start cursing out the b/o & it tends to piss me off....

It’s happened to me on the 126. Port Authority loves to reroute lanes at the last second, especially in that rightmost tunnel, I get sent down to 34th St. luckily a lot of them understood it wasn’t my fault. Dispatch wasn’t happy with me though haha.

Edited April 20 by Lawrence St

[go25]

12 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

It’s happened to me on the 126. Port Authority loves to reroute lanes at the last second, especially in that rightmost tunnel, I get sent down to 34th St. luckily a lot of them understood it wasn’t my fault. Dispatch wasn’t happy with me though haha.

Screw dispatch lol