New Jersey Transit - Random Thoughts Thread

[checkmatechamp13]

On 4/9/2023 at 5:20 AM, B35 via Church said:

For the whole trip, or after I got to JG? If it's the latter, it was to be the #24 - (walk to the) #41 - #62 - #48 (Perth Amboy) - #116 - #166T - #167.... So to answer the question, I was going to ride the #24 the whole way.....

If the #62 never served IKEA let's say, then I would've waited for the next #111, because I was not about to double back on the #40.... Last week Sunday, I took the Bx29 (after years of having not been out to CIty Island), and even then, I felt funny about doubling back on it - and that's considering that being the only option out there... Lol...

As for Orange's downtown, I feel right at home, because it more or less reminds of the Flatbush av. strip over in Flatbush.... If by nice you mean the area is lively, then it's definitely that.... Any other iteration of the word, I'd say it's anything but (that).... Speaking of deception, every time I pass through (or even think about) Harrison, it just screams fool's gold /  lipstick on a pig to me....

The former (whole trip). 

And yeah, Harrison still has that whole industrial vibe, but attempting to be residential.

And wow, I didn't realize the #166T ran on Saturdays, but looking at the schedule it does. Definitely good to know. (I remember that slog down Blvd East when I used to take the #165...good to see they have an option to bypass that area).

[MNR Beacon Line]

Speaking of the destination signs why do they randomly flash the name of the garage after the route sometimes? Why would that possibly be useful or even an option?

[MNR Beacon Line]

I'm also annoyed by how many operators are too lazy to switch to the correct sign. When I was at Hoboken the other day an operator on the 23 pulled into the wrong lane, with a 22 sign on, and got out of the bus to yell to everyone that it was a 23? Just why?

[B35 via Church]

8 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

The former (whole trip). 

And yeah, Harrison still has that whole industrial vibe, but attempting to be residential.

And wow, I didn't realize the #166T ran on Saturdays, but looking at the schedule it does. Definitely good to know. (I remember that slog down Blvd East when I used to take the #165...good to see they have an option to bypass that area).

Yeah, a family friend got suckered into moving to Harrison... She & her boyfriend/husband (don't know if they were married then or not) moved out within months; I was laughing the whole time family members told me that... Last I heard, she & her dude moved to Montclair; that was around the beginning of covid or so.... If they're still there or not, IDK & IDRC to be quite honest... lol....

I'm trying to plan something for today, but I'm feeling rather lax... Doesn't help that I don't have anything in-particular right this second that I want to ride in mind... Anyway, for last week's trip, it was the #113N - #59 - #76 (b/w Nwk-Broad & N. Arlington bus loop) - #40 - #62 (b/w Elizabeth IKEA & the last stop in Elizabeth) - #112 (b/w [Elizabeth - Broad/Jersey] & [PABT])... Then I stopped off for a food break, didn't feel like riding around in Manhattan, so I just went home after that.....

[46Dover]

14 hours ago, Silk City Transit said:

"751 BOGO

               TA"

Would like to have a word with you, sir.  

I’ve never seen that…I’ve driven the 751 in the RTS days.  That’s epic

[Lawrence St]

11 hours ago, MNR Beacon Line said:

I'm also annoyed by how many operators are too lazy to switch to the correct sign. When I was at Hoboken the other day an operator on the 23 pulled into the wrong lane, with a 22 sign on, and got out of the bus to yell to everyone that it was a 23? Just why?

Don’t be blaming operators for something you don’t understand. Multiple times the clever devices in the buses stop working and you can no longer change or update the sign which is why that happens.

Don’t call operators lazy, that’s just disrespectful.

[46Dover]

2 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

Don’t be blaming operators for something you don’t understand. Multiple times the clever devices in the buses stop working and you can no longer change or update the sign which is why that happens.

Don’t call operators lazy, that’s just disrespectful.

Clever devices…more like dumbass devices.   I find myself calling up to control more often than not to fix the problem 

[Lawrence St]

1 hour ago, 46Dover said:

Clever devices…more like dumbass devices.   I find myself calling up to control more often than not to fix the problem 

When I did the 83, I forgot what it was but I had to end at Union City/Bergenline going southbound, and the clever stopped working on me. I couldn't change the sign to say SPECIAL so I had to explain to 70+ people about 50 times that I was not going to Journal Square. Pretty sure I got a thousand complaints over that.

[46Dover]

17 hours ago, MNR Beacon Line said:

I'm also annoyed by how many operators are too lazy to switch to the correct sign. When I was at Hoboken the other day an operator on the 23 pulled into the wrong lane, with a 22 sign on, and got out of the bus to yell to everyone that it was a 23? Just why?

Aren’t those lines a ONE operation?

[nightmare402]

8 minutes ago, 46Dover said:

Aren’t those lines a ONE operation?

No

[B35 via Church]

Not as much of a gripe as more as it is an honest question, but what exactly is the protocol for paying the fare in cash on a full service line when the bus has a farebox (e/g, a NABI)? Or is there even a protocol at all?

Case in point, 2 weeks ago when I took the #182 from Hackensack, the b/o had a nasty ass attitude when I attempted to put singles in the farebox... While muttering something under his breath, he did the whole "give it here" gesture (as in, hand me the money).... OTOH, earlier today, I took the #107 from S. Orange RR & attempted to hand the b/o the 7 bucks, and he points to the farebox.... At least he wasn't an ass about it though...

----

Ironically (well, coincidentally), I ended up taking the #182 (except it was to Hackensack) earlier today also... After having came off the #171, I tried running over to the TVM's to get a ticket (with 4 mins. to spare) & the damn thing kept rejecting my 5 dollar bills... Tried twice with 2 of them & once with 2 other 5 dollar bills (that's 4 separate 5 dollar bills)... With a minute to spare, I waved my hand at the machine & said f*** this & power-walked towards the waiting bus... I didn't think the b/o would accept cash @ GWB (with the mindset that cash payment is prohibited at PABT), but he accepted it w/o any issue at all (the farebox was covered, and apparently, the person that boarded before me apparently also paid in cash, as the b/o was making change for that lady)....

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by B35 via Church

[Lawrence St]

2 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

Not as much of a gripe as more as it is an honest question, but what exactly is the protocol for paying the fare in cash on a full service line when the bus has a farebox (e/g, a NABI)? Or is there even a protocol at all?

Case in point, 2 weeks ago when I took the #182 from Hackensack, the b/o had a nasty ass attitude when I attempted to put singles in the farebox... While muttering something under his breath, he did the whole "give it here" gesture (as in, hand me the money).... OTOH, earlier today, I took the #107 from S. Orange RR & attempted to hand the b/o the 7 bucks, and he points to the farebox.... At least he wasn't an ass about it though...

----

Ironically (well, coincidentally), I ended up taking the #182 (except it was to Hackensack) earlier today also... After having came off the #171, I tried running over to the TVM's to get a ticket (with 4 mins. to spare) & the damn thing kept rejecting my 5 dollar bills... Tried twice with 2 of them & once with 2 other 5 dollar bills (that's 4 separate 5 dollar bills)... With a minute to spare, I waved my hand at the machine & said f*** this & power-walked towards the waiting bus... I didn't think the b/o would accept cash @ GWB (with the mindset that cash payment is prohibited at PABT), but he accepted it w/o any issue at all (the farebox was covered, and apparently, the person that boarded before me apparently also paid in cash, as the b/o was making change for that lady)....

 

That's a big no-no. Per rule, if your line is full service and you have a bus with a farebox, you are not suppose to use the farebox under any reason. The same goes the opposite way, except if your a farebox line and you have a non-farebox bus, you are to operate fare free.

This happened to me multiple times when my NABI or XD60 would breakdown in Hackensack and I would get a non-farebox bus from Fairview.

[checkmatechamp13]

@B35 via Church The 107 and 108 are exact fare lines, so the money goes into the farebox.

For full service lines, my understanding is that you give the money to the driver, in case they need to make change for another person. (e.g. If you pay with singles, and the next person pays with a $5 bill, they can use the singles to give change if necessary). But I could be completely wrong.

I usually just pay with the app nowadays. Makes it especially easy in cases like PABT and GWB where you're technically supposed to have the ticket in advance (there's nothing physically stopping them from selling an X zone interstate ticket from those points, but they just don't want a ton of people fumbling with cash at those busy terminals)

On a side note, for anybody looking to use the Newark Light Rail shuttle buses this weekend, they leave from Grove at :15, :35, :55 past the hour and leave Newark Penn at :05, :25, and :45 past the hour. Last bus is 12:55am out of Grove and 1:25am out of Newark Penn.

@Lawrence St I don't see what the big no-no is. The 107 is a farebox line so the B/O told him to use the farebox. The 182 is full service so the B/O told him to give the cash directly to the B/O.

Edited April 16, 2023 by checkmatechamp13

[B35 via Church]

6 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

@B35 via Church The 107 and 108 are exact fare lines, so the money goes into the farebox.

For full service lines, my understanding is that you give the money to the driver, in case they need to make change for another person. (e.g. If you pay with singles, and the next person pays with a $5 bill, they can use the singles to give change if necessary). But I could be completely wrong.

I usually just pay with the app nowadays. Makes it especially easy in cases like PABT and GWB where you're technically supposed to have the ticket in advance (there's nothing physically stopping them from selling an X zone interstate ticket from those points, but they just don't want a ton of people fumbling with cash at those busy terminals)

Good to know (about the #107 & #108... always thought they were full service lines).... With that said though, something's rotten in the state of Denmark then, because I have definitely been on #107's & #108's in the past where b/o's have handled cash.

I tried paying w/ the app a couple of times, but I tend to refrain from it b/c more often than not, the reader on the bus doesn't take.... I don't have much patience for things like that (which is why I'm not all that high on tap-to-pay in general).... Case in point, this chick & the b/o on the #871 I took yesterday got into a whole fuss about it... They were bickering back & forth basically from the time she got on in Boonton until she got off at Abbett av (not sure if that stop is considered Cedar Knolls or Morristown, but either way, it was annoying as shit)....

6 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

@Lawrence St I don't see what the big no-no is. The 107 is a farebox line so the B/O told him to use the farebox. The 182 is full service so the B/O told him to give the cash directly to the B/O.

He's referring to my attempting of putting the singles in the farebox on that #182 I said I took 2 weeks ago.... Although I've taken #171's, 178's, and #182's in the past where I've been told/instructed to use the farebox (which is where the confusion lied), I'll own that....

At the same time, that particular b/o 2 weeks ago didn't have to be a d**k about it... Don't take shit out on me because you're running late (it wasn't just me that he was attitudinal with btw)... The natural inclination by passengers even wanting to pay the fare nowadays is to put cash into the farebox... Novel concept, no? But yeah, to avoid having pax. do that, I'd just block the damn farebox with a piece of paper & be done with it... Now if I wanted to just as much of a d*** as that particular b/o was, I'd be up here (and verbalizing to dude himself) talking about not even running buses with fareboxes on routes that are full service lines.

[40 to 241st]

Who's exited about the Xe40NG 

[nightmare402]

1 hour ago, 40 to 241st said:

Who's exited about the Xe40NG 

???

[40 to 241st]

2 minutes ago, nightmare402 said:

???

it's NJT's newest fleet

 

[trainfan22]

3 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

Good to know (about the #107 & #108... always thought they were full service lines).... With that said though, something's rotten in the state of Denmark then, because I have definitely been on #107's & #108's in the past where b/o's have handled cash.

I tried paying w/ the app a couple of times, but I tend to refrain from it b/c more often than not, the reader on the bus doesn't take.... I don't have much patience for things like that (which is why I'm not all that high on tap-to-pay in general).... Case in point, this chick & the b/o on the #871 I took yesterday got into a whole fuss about it... They were bickering back & forth basically from the time she got on in Boonton until she got off at Abbett av (not sure if that stop is considered Cedar Knolls or Morristown, but either way, it was annoying as shit)....

He's referring to my attempting of putting the singles in the farebox on that #182 I said I took 2 weeks ago.... Although I've taken #171's, 178's, and #182's in the past where I've been told/instructed to use the farebox (which is where the confusion lied), I'll own that....

At the same time, that particular b/o 2 weeks ago didn't have to be a d**k about it... Don't take shit out on me because you're running late (it wasn't just me that he was attitudinal with btw)... The natural inclination by passengers even wanting to pay the fare nowadays is to put cash into the farebox... Novel concept, no? But yeah, to avoid having pax. do that, I'd just block the damn farebox with a piece of paper & be done with it... Now if I wanted to just as much of a d*** as that particular b/o was, I'd be up here (and verbalizing to dude himself) talking about not even running buses with fareboxes on routes that are full service lines.

I did not know you had to scan the fare payment on the app on NJT buses. I always just show the B/O my phone, they never say to scan anywhere. After I do this they do something to the farebox as I'm boarding.

[checkmatechamp13]

1 hour ago, trainfan22 said:

I did not know you had to scan the fare payment on the app on NJT buses. I always just show the B/O my phone, they never say to scan anywhere. After I do this they do something to the farebox as I'm boarding.

 

4 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

I tried paying w/ the app a couple of times, but I tend to refrain from it b/c more often than not, the reader on the bus doesn't take.... I don't have much patience for things like that (which is why I'm not all that high on tap-to-pay in general).... Case in point, this chick & the b/o on the #871 I took yesterday got into a whole fuss about it... They were bickering back & forth basically from the time she got on in Boonton until she got off at Abbett av (not sure if that stop is considered Cedar Knolls or Morristown, but either way, it was annoying as shit)....

I remember the first time a B/O asked me to scan out in Morris County...I fumbled around with the QR code (I can't stand those things in general) and realized why they don't do it on busy urban routes...with all of the passengers boarding, and having to fumble around, it's just easier to activate it and walk on. NJT gets its money and it gets the ridership count when the B/O pushes the button.

Stupidly enough, one of the B/Os who wanted to be all by-the-book about scanning (when the scanner wasn't even working) refused to sell me a transfer, insisting "You should buy it through the app" (Unlike Suffolk County, you can't buy transfers through the app out in NJ. Transfers and overrides need to be paid in cash)

4 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

He's referring to my attempting of putting the singles in the farebox on that #182 I said I took 2 weeks ago.... Although I've taken #171's, 178's, and #182's in the past where I've been told/instructed to use the farebox (which is where the confusion lied), I'll own that....

At the same time, that particular b/o 2 weeks ago didn't have to be a d**k about it... Don't take shit out on me because you're running late (it wasn't just me that he was attitudinal with btw)... The natural inclination by passengers even wanting to pay the fare nowadays is to put cash into the farebox... Novel concept, no? But yeah, to avoid having pax. do that, I'd just block the damn farebox with a piece of paper & be done with it... Now if I wanted to just as much of a d*** as that particular b/o was, I'd be up here (and verbalizing to dude himself) talking about not even running buses with fareboxes on routes that are full service lines.

Fair enough, and yeah if they didn't want the farebox used, they should've covered it up (but then in that case, you might run into confusion where people think the bus is free with a broken farebox and the B/O has to call them back up to pay). I suppose one of the downsides of being able to make change on the bus (For some systems that accept cash, they'll offer a farecard with the equivalent amount of value that would've been given back...maybe that's a potential solution). Of course, it doesn't help that NJT fare increments (especially for intrastate lines) are usually in increments of nickels and dimes.

Edited April 16, 2023 by checkmatechamp13

[go25]

6 hours ago, 40 to 241st said:

it's NJT's newest fleet

 

Source?

[40 to 241st]

9 minutes ago, go25 said:

Source?

Cptdb, how do you not know s]about the 2022 Xe40 NG

[46Dover]

7 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

remember the first time a B/O asked me to scan out in Morris County...I fumbled around with the QR code (I can't stand those things in general) and realized why they don't do it on busy urban routes...with all of the passengers boarding, and having to fumble around, it's just easier to activate it and walk on. NJT gets its money and it gets the ridership count when the B/O pushes the button.

To be honest, the only time I don’t even bother to use the scanning is in the rush hour at Port Authority Bus Terminal (where you only have 5 minutes at a time to load 57 passengers per bus), and Willowbrook Mall (on a good weekend which may as well be a rush hour at PABT)  and you would have to wait seconds at a time before the scanner completely cycles and the next rider has to do the same.  The scanning (when it works 🤦‍♂️) allows drivers to not fumble around with the menu (and possibly having a “dammit” moment with hitting the wrong option for the proper ticket/pass) and scans everything right on the spot.  

[Lawrence St]

1 hour ago, 46Dover said:

To be honest, the only time I don’t even bother to use the scanning is in the rush hour at Port Authority Bus Terminal (where you only have 5 minutes at a time to load 57 passengers per bus), and Willowbrook Mall (on a good weekend which may as well be a rush hour at PABT)  and you would have to wait seconds at a time before the scanner completely cycles and the next rider has to do the same.  The scanning (when it works 🤦‍♂️) allows drivers to not fumble around with the menu (and possibly having a “dammit” moment with hitting the wrong option for the proper ticket/pass) and scans everything right on the spot.  

I personally dislike those dam registers. Someone told me how the thing was glitching and he didn't realize he had pressed the issue button on a full service line 100+ times.

[Mtatransit]

7 hours ago, 46Dover said:

To be honest, the only time I don’t even bother to use the scanning is in the rush hour at Port Authority Bus Terminal (where you only have 5 minutes at a time to load 57 passengers per bus), and Willowbrook Mall (on a good weekend which may as well be a rush hour at PABT)  and you would have to wait seconds at a time before the scanner completely cycles and the next rider has to do the same.  The scanning (when it works 🤦‍♂️) allows drivers to not fumble around with the menu (and possibly having a “dammit” moment with hitting the wrong option for the proper ticket/pass) and scans everything right on the spot.  

I experienced those scanners more and more, even a couple of months ago, we would just wave it to the driver, now it seems like we are required to scan every time we board the bus, including at PABT

[Cait Sith]

16 hours ago, trainfan22 said:

I did not know you had to scan the fare payment on the app on NJT buses. I always just show the B/O my phone, they never say to scan anywhere. After I do this they do something to the farebox as I'm boarding.

Same. A few weeks ago while staying in Jersey City for a week, I got on the 6 to JSQ and the op told me to scan my phone. It was a little finicky, but it worked.

I got so used to seeing them not in use, that she caught me so off guard when she told me to scan my ticket lol.