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NJ Transit probes 2-hour late 'bus ride from hell'


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NEW JERSEY -- New Jersey Transit is investigating why one of its bus drivers took a different route Thursday, making passengers nearly two hours late into New York City.

 

NJ Transit's No. 113 Express from Dunellen was due at the Port Authority Bus Terminal at 7:39 a.m., a roughly 40-minute ride. It didn't get there until 9:22 a.m.

 

NJ Transit spokeswoman Nancy Snyder says the investigation will examine all parts of the trip and appropriate action will be taken. Snyder says the agency is reaching out to apologize to passengers, who vented their frustration to Eyewitness News reporter Phil Lipof.

 

"It just didn't end," commuter Carol Beier said. "I looked down at my phone, and when I looked up, we weren't in Kansas anymore. We were on surface streets."

 

And that was just the beginning of the long, strange trip. But what didn't take long was for regulars on board to realize the driver got confused when the New Jersey Turnpike got backed up.

 

"I think she lost her patience," passenger Jim Coan said. "Got off and went back south on the Turnpike, and went all the way to Secaucus."

 

"I have no idea," rider Ed Hassani said. "I went by MetLife stadium like three times, and then all of a sudden, we are on the [Garden State] Parkway going north, above where we usually go to the Lincoln Tunnel."

 

The driver then took the George Washington Bridge into the city.

 

"Never once an announcement, and then you look up and you're going over the GWB," Beier said. "You didn't sign up for that. It would have been better if I didn't have a 9:30 appointment."

 

No one really knows why the driver got confused, why she circled MetLife stadium or why she wound up lost in Secaucus. But Carol and many others were two hours late for work. And believe it or not, that wasn't the most frustrating part.

 

"When we got to New York, she didn't know how to get to Port Authority," Hassani said. She wouldn't let us off the bus on the street, and that's when people started going crazy and calling 911 and New Jersey Transit. That got a little crazy."

 

By then, riders had enough. Two hours late, frustrated and bewildered, and when the ride from hell was finally over, you'd think the driver would at least be apologetic, right?

 

"She said get the F out of my bus," Coan said. "She said that very clearly. Those are the words she used. I said 'Very nice and very professional.' Those are the words I used."

 

Riders say the profanity added insult to injury on a day none of them will ever forget. And in an area that sees its share of commuting nightmares, that's saying something.

 

 

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=resources%2Ftraffic&id=9139039

 

 

Wow, first day on the job and the driver screwed up big time! What do you think is the appropriate punishment for ?

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I'd like to know why the driver didn't know the route.

 

And I'm pretty sure they can bring up a live map on the Clever Device if they get lost that will direct them back to the route. Dispatch is also alerted if the bus goes off route, so they could (and should) have gotten involved and figured out how to get her back on the route.

 

I could be wrong about the CD having a live map, but still the driver should have contacted dispatch if she didn't know where she was instead of trying to figure it out.

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Why didn't she just call dispatch and tell them she was stuck in traffic? I'm pretty sure they could've told her a different way to go. If that were me, I'd call dispatch, tell them I'm stuck in traffic and ask if I can find a detour to the Lincoln Tunnel. If they confirm that I can take a detour, I would first make an announcement to the passengers I'm detouring through Jersey City, get off on Routes 1/9 and take that to 495 and well...y'all know the rest. 

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i think the driver could develop first sign of alzheimer. if she been a driver for while on NJT(which is not mentioned) then what caused her not to react properly to procedure that all driver supposed to do. that is my only guess here. for passenger , you should have ask where are you trying to go on detour. 

 

Also it could be possible one of secret busjack. 

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Ugh, utterly disgusting... I really don't know what sort of training some of these B/O's get, but some of them are completely unprofessional.  I don't mind that she got lost.  My issue she doesn't make any announcement #1 which drives me nuts. Communication is key.  Let people know what's going on if you're making some crazy detour.  #2 she didn't ask anyone which way to go when she was clearly lost. #3 she has no concern whatsoever that she's costing people money and time to get to their place of work LATE because why would she care?  Her actions could cost people to miss important appointments or even be late with things to important clients. She's already on the clock so **** everyone else.  And please no one say leave earlier.  I get so sick of hearing that.  It would be nice to take responsibility for once. When I f*ck up at my job I have to answer to my boss (the owner) and the same should apply here.  Maybe all of these people should've drove into work... That could be an answer too...  <_<

 

I'll never understand why some people work with the public if they're going to be so miserable, rude and unprofessional. She could've asked for directions and plenty of people would've helped her.  I've certainly helped lost B/O's on a few occasions.

 

It amazes me how entitled some people are.  There are people that would kill for that job. Yeah it may be stressful but what job isn't? You have to learn how to deal with stress or it will concur you.

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Guest Lance

You should leave earlier. Nah, I'm just busting your balls.

 

Seriously, there is no excuse for a two-hour scenic route to Port Authority, unless you paid for such a tour. Even if the systems in place on the bus fail and it can't help you get to your destination, you as a bus driver, have to suck up your pride and ask someone how to get to where you need to be. Whether that's the dispatcher or some random person on the bus is irrelevant. Don't keep driving around like you know where you're going when you don't have the faintest clue. That's completely unprofessional and hopefully should cost her the job.

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You should leave earlier. Nah, I'm just busting your balls.

 

Seriously, there is no excuse for a two-hour scenic route to Port Authority, unless you paid for such a tour. Even if the systems in place on the bus fail and it can't help you get to your destination, you as a bus driver, have to suck up your pride and ask someone how to get to where you need to be. Whether that's the dispatcher or some random person on the bus is irrelevant. Don't keep driving around like you know where you're going when you don't have the faintest clue. That's completely unprofessional and hopefully should cost her the job.

What amazes me is that she was so prideful not to ask anyone and acting as if the passengers were the enemy.  Already starting on the wrong foot.  That attitude doesn't take you far.  I've seen quite a few B/O's like that and they usually end up getting canned...

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What I can't get is the GPS? I mean, it there for a reason. Plus there no excuse for this two hour delay. She took the job so she should have know and been prepared. It would have been weird that day if I was at the GWB and saw a 113 bus. Plus the use of foul words was just adding salt to the injury, like it the passengers fault for her getting lost. Fact is, she got impatience, tried to make a detour, got lost, was too embarrass to call NJT or look at the GPS, remember she forgot her coffee on her car, got mad at everyone and threw F bombs, realized "I just lost this job", and went home.

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Well remember what happened to me a couple months back on the 319? NJ Transit seems to be goofing off alot lately. This is a failure of multiple individuals. The driver should've realized she was lost and called for help, either from passengers or dispatch. I'm still baffled as to how an NJT operator wouldn't know where Port Authority is! And dispatch should have known the bus was off route. This certainly isn't very reassuring had an actual emergency had taken place. Then again in my situation there were also multiple failures. The driver didn't have his license with him, but dispatch failed to act by having one of the two 319's that left after us, pick up the passengers which spent hours at Cheesequake. Fortunately I got 2 courtesy tickets for that delay, but certainly these folks should get AT LEAST that if not more, since they were also cursed at by the bus driver. As many were monthly commuters I think they should get a free monthy pass. In my situation there was no communication either, the driver never announced what happened, and we had to go up front to ask. Considering many of these bus lines aren't exactly cheap fares, NJ Transit sure is letting things slip. I really would like to know what is going on over there. I got the impression from my experience NJ Transit is extremely poorly organized and one hand doesn't know what the other is doing. I just hope this driver isn't allowed back on the road again!

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Well remember what happened to me a couple months back on the 319? NJ Transit seems to be goofing off alot lately. This is a failure of multiple individuals. The driver should've realized she was lost and called for help, either from passengers or dispatch. I'm still baffled as to how an NJT operator wouldn't know where Port Authority is! And dispatch should have known the bus was off route. This certainly isn't very reassuring had an actual emergency had taken place. Then again in my situation there were also multiple failures. The driver didn't have his license with him, but dispatch failed to act by having one of the two 319's that left after us, pick up the passengers which spent hours at Cheesequake. Fortunately I got 2 courtesy tickets for that delay, but certainly these folks should get AT LEAST that if not more, since they were also cursed at by the bus driver. As many were monthly commuters I think they should get a free monthy pass. In my situation there was no communication either, the driver never announced what happened, and we had to go up front to ask. Considering many of these bus lines aren't exactly cheap fares, NJ Transit sure is letting things slip. I really would like to know what is going on over there. I got the impression from my experience NJ Transit is extremely poorly organized and one hand doesn't know what the other is doing. I just hope this driver isn't allowed back on the road again!

sums it up pretty well NJT executives didn't know MCAT was NJT funded.

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What amazes me is that she was so prideful not to ask anyone and acting as if the passengers were the enemy.  Already starting on the wrong foot.  That attitude doesn't take you far.  I've seen quite a few B/O's like that and they usually end up getting canned...

 

Not only that, but people actually offered her help, and she didn't accept it.

 

"People were trying to help her, but she wouldn’t listen," Iosso said of the driver.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/no-thing-regular-commute-nj-bus-gets-lost-165720697.html (Roadcruiser's article)

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As a bus operator (Suburban Transit) I'm not shocked she didn't ask for directions. Whenever I have to go off route for whatever reason I make announcements and try to keep my passengers up to date on the progress. MetLife stadium on the 113? She had to have totally missed 495.

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What I find most hilarious about this is that the operator could not locate the PABT. How the f**k do you land a job for NJ Transit and not know where that is?

 

As I said, in my opinion all of the passengers should be receiving a decent amount of compensation, and the operator terminated for her unprofessional demeanor while on the job.

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As a bus operator (Suburban Transit) I'm not shocked she didn't ask for directions. Whenever I have to go off route for whatever reason I make announcements and try to keep my passengers up to date on the progress. MetLife stadium on the 113? She had to have totally missed 495.

you operate for suburban ehh I have questions for you PM me we need to talk.
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you operate for suburban ehh I have questions for you PM me we need to talk.[

 

Uh oh, prepare for interrogation. As for the bus operator, in the words of Vincent Kennedy McMahon: YOURRRRRRE FIIIIRRRRRRED!!!!!!!!!!!

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And the other thing about being a bus operator is, new or not you have to be able to find your way out of a paper bag. When I first started out on a route I was unfamiliar with, I asked for assistance until I felt comfortable, and extremely grateful afterwards.

 

She didn't wreck the bus or get any tickets which can almost ensure she can get work with someone else. Hopefully for her sake the old addage "once was an accident, twice is a trend" doesn't apply or she can kiss any transit job goodbye

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