Good or bad, it's up for you to decide. My job situation for September has changed, and I will no longer be taking the train regularly.
Thus, this blog is rendered obsolete.
So long, all aboard.
IIIriderIIIII
8.10.2008
8.05.2008
8.5 Tips for Riding the Bus
If you're not used to taking the bus, here's some tips so that you don't annoy everyone else around you.
1. Know which bus you need & where it boards: The buses are labeled by their bus number and which direction they're headed in lights on the front. The direction is indicated by a location stop (i.e. 80 via Journal Square). The best way to know what bus number and which direction you need is to check the NJT Itinerary Planner first. If you can't do that, ask other people waiting at the bus stop. If that doesn't help, and it often won't, quickly ask the driver before you pay if he or she makes your stop. Doing this is not preferable, but it is acceptable.
2. Have your money ready: When you see the bus coming, make sure that you have the exact amount of change necessary to ride it in your hand. If you don't know how much it will cost, it's helpful to have a lot of change. If this is impossible, be prepared to pay more than you should. Holding up the line to look for more money is a big no-no. The drivers do not have change.
3. Hail the bus: Sometimes the driver may not see you, or may think you're waiting for another bus. When you can see the bus number, step into the road and hold your arm up so that the driver knows that you want to get on. Don't be obnoxious about it. The bus will see you. Make sure you're standing by the right bus stop sign.
4. Let passengers off before you try to get on: If you try to get on before everyone else is off, the driver will put a big hand in your face. Just so you know, it's common courtesy everywhere to board after everyone has exited.
5. Pay your fare: Some buses have a machine to collect coins and bills. Other buses have the driver accept the money. Be prepared for both. Again, the drivers do not have change. Take the printed ticket if others are taking it. Leave it if others do not take it. If you are the first or the only person getting on, take the ticket. If there is no ticket, don't worry about it.
6. If you're unsure...: Sit near the driver if you have to ask a question or if you'd like the driver to point out your stop to you. Drivers are more willing to talk to passengers once the bus is moving. Sitting toward the front gives you the best view of street names. This is helpful in unfamiliar areas, but you should quickly give up the seat if a person who is old and/or disabled gets on.
7. Enjoy the ride: I crack up to hear the ways drivers yell at other vehicles on the road and berate their own passengers. Hopefully, if you followed these guidelines you won't be one of their targets. Even still, you might catch someone on a bad day. Don't let it get to you.
8. Inform the driver when to stop: Make sure to push the strip, pull the cord or press the button to let the driver know that your stop is coming up next. If you're unfamiliar with the area, be positive that it's where you want to get off. If you stop that bus, someone has to get off and it should probably be you. Thank the driver.
Above all else, try to have as much information as possible. Also, it helps to appear as if you know what you're doing and/or don't care too much about making a mistake.
1. Know which bus you need & where it boards: The buses are labeled by their bus number and which direction they're headed in lights on the front. The direction is indicated by a location stop (i.e. 80 via Journal Square). The best way to know what bus number and which direction you need is to check the NJT Itinerary Planner first. If you can't do that, ask other people waiting at the bus stop. If that doesn't help, and it often won't, quickly ask the driver before you pay if he or she makes your stop. Doing this is not preferable, but it is acceptable.
2. Have your money ready: When you see the bus coming, make sure that you have the exact amount of change necessary to ride it in your hand. If you don't know how much it will cost, it's helpful to have a lot of change. If this is impossible, be prepared to pay more than you should. Holding up the line to look for more money is a big no-no. The drivers do not have change.
3. Hail the bus: Sometimes the driver may not see you, or may think you're waiting for another bus. When you can see the bus number, step into the road and hold your arm up so that the driver knows that you want to get on. Don't be obnoxious about it. The bus will see you. Make sure you're standing by the right bus stop sign.
4. Let passengers off before you try to get on: If you try to get on before everyone else is off, the driver will put a big hand in your face. Just so you know, it's common courtesy everywhere to board after everyone has exited.
5. Pay your fare: Some buses have a machine to collect coins and bills. Other buses have the driver accept the money. Be prepared for both. Again, the drivers do not have change. Take the printed ticket if others are taking it. Leave it if others do not take it. If you are the first or the only person getting on, take the ticket. If there is no ticket, don't worry about it.
6. If you're unsure...: Sit near the driver if you have to ask a question or if you'd like the driver to point out your stop to you. Drivers are more willing to talk to passengers once the bus is moving. Sitting toward the front gives you the best view of street names. This is helpful in unfamiliar areas, but you should quickly give up the seat if a person who is old and/or disabled gets on.
7. Enjoy the ride: I crack up to hear the ways drivers yell at other vehicles on the road and berate their own passengers. Hopefully, if you followed these guidelines you won't be one of their targets. Even still, you might catch someone on a bad day. Don't let it get to you.
8. Inform the driver when to stop: Make sure to push the strip, pull the cord or press the button to let the driver know that your stop is coming up next. If you're unfamiliar with the area, be positive that it's where you want to get off. If you stop that bus, someone has to get off and it should probably be you. Thank the driver.
Above all else, try to have as much information as possible. Also, it helps to appear as if you know what you're doing and/or don't care too much about making a mistake.
8.04.2008
PING, PING - Attention... New Brunswick, passengers...
borrowed from our friends at:
http://pc.smellycat.com
The train was late today. I knew it was an unusual day when I walked up the steps at the same time as always and a train was also arriving. That's not what regularly happens. Anything out of the ordinary like that is a clue to an error somewhere out there.
A couple weeks ago, for example, I knew there was a problem when a train pulled into the station and didn't leave after a few minutes. All of a sudden, it began to really pour, and the thunder shook the windows. I could see lightning streaking across the sky. It appeared that the power had blacked out along the trainlines from New York to Virginia. Trains were stopped in every station along the way for nearly two hours.
Of course, I made a series of bad decisions in response. Not knowing how long the delay was going to be, I called my girlfriend to see if she would come pick me up. Not being familiar with the area, she nearly killed herself in the traffic and downpours on her way there, and after all that the trains started moving before she could even reach the station. I didn't get home until it was nearly dark.
I hope there aren't delays like that once I start my new job. Or rain, for that matter. I need to walk a few blocks, and I hate getting wet!
7.29.2008
jumpers. LINE jumpers!
Long story short, I barely made the train today.
So there I was at the train station waiting in the queue to purchase my tickets from the automatic ticket machine. I was about fifth in line and I knew that the wait had to be for the New York bound train that was just about to arrive. I decided it would be a better use of my time to get my coffee and paper from Dunkin' Donuts first and then come back. I had about ten minutes.
Sure enough, when I returned, the NY train had passed and I was about to be next in line. As I moved forward, though, two women talking to one another stepped in from another direction at almost exactly the same time.
Almost. I was there first. They stood beside me.
They were talking to one another, and only one of them realized that there would be a push to see who would stand where in line. I saw competition in her eyes. She played dumb at first, nodding haphazardly to her friend's chatter, but she kept one eye ahead of her, and when the person in front had finished using the machine, she quickly stepped forward, thus relegating me to a chump who had been cut in line.
Really, I'm a nice guy, so I gave her the benefit of the doubt and quietly allowed her to cut me. I didn't sigh at all. I promise. I hate when people do that.
These were my thoughts. Maybe she knew how to use the machine as well as I do, and would be off of it in under a minute as I would have been. Maybe she had to catch the Southbound train toward Trenton as I had to do, and she wanted to be sure she didn't miss it. Or maybe, unlike me, she was just a selfish idiot. Who knows?
The whole thing began well. She pressed the "English" button pretty quickly. That was a good sign. But the next step, the one that asks the user to differentiate among the Special Promotion, AmTrak and NJTransit tickets, well, honestly, it wasn't a stumbling block for her. But she certainly didn't move on it as quickly as I'd hoped she would.
She then entered her destination: 000, New York City. So it was totally lame of her to cut me in line. Her train had literally just passed. There would be an 8:16 and an 8:21 that she could catch! I could practically hear mine coming.
The next part of this process was where things completely fell apart.
Let me tell you something. At 8:05, during the peak rush commute in the morning, you do not step up to that machine without knowing exactly what ticket type you need. I can forgive a relative unfamiliarity with the machine. Some wouldn't even be that nice, but I say we all gotta learn sometime, even if it is during the morning. If you step up to that machine, though, and don't know whether or not you need a one-way to NY or a round trip to Trenton, then there is going to be a serious problem. Are you coming back, or not? How many times? That is a waste of everyone's time, and when this woman asked her friend if they were getting 10 adult tickets or something else, that's also why I said something to them.
"You know, I have to catch a train in, like, two minutes."
The one who didn't know she'd cut the line got mad. "Yes," she said, "that's why we're all here waiting in line; we've been waiting ten minutes for our turn!"
She was a cutter and a liar. I was there when she had gotten in line. Ahead of me. A minute before. Illegally.
"But you cut me," I said.
She turned around in a huff. Meanwhile, as all this was happening, her friend's debit card hadn't gone through three times in a row because she didn't know the trick to correctly pulling it out after she swiped. She couldn't buy her ten adult tickets for the train that had just passed because her transaction had been canceled. They walked away mad, not wanting to further hold up the huge line that had formed behind them. At least they had the decency not to try again.
Long story short, I barely made the train today. You might be thinking I should buy my tickets ahead of time, or just opt for the monthly pass, but those are topics for another day.
IIIriderIIIII
So there I was at the train station waiting in the queue to purchase my tickets from the automatic ticket machine. I was about fifth in line and I knew that the wait had to be for the New York bound train that was just about to arrive. I decided it would be a better use of my time to get my coffee and paper from Dunkin' Donuts first and then come back. I had about ten minutes.
Sure enough, when I returned, the NY train had passed and I was about to be next in line. As I moved forward, though, two women talking to one another stepped in from another direction at almost exactly the same time.
Almost. I was there first. They stood beside me.
They were talking to one another, and only one of them realized that there would be a push to see who would stand where in line. I saw competition in her eyes. She played dumb at first, nodding haphazardly to her friend's chatter, but she kept one eye ahead of her, and when the person in front had finished using the machine, she quickly stepped forward, thus relegating me to a chump who had been cut in line.
Really, I'm a nice guy, so I gave her the benefit of the doubt and quietly allowed her to cut me. I didn't sigh at all. I promise. I hate when people do that.
These were my thoughts. Maybe she knew how to use the machine as well as I do, and would be off of it in under a minute as I would have been. Maybe she had to catch the Southbound train toward Trenton as I had to do, and she wanted to be sure she didn't miss it. Or maybe, unlike me, she was just a selfish idiot. Who knows?
The whole thing began well. She pressed the "English" button pretty quickly. That was a good sign. But the next step, the one that asks the user to differentiate among the Special Promotion, AmTrak and NJTransit tickets, well, honestly, it wasn't a stumbling block for her. But she certainly didn't move on it as quickly as I'd hoped she would.
She then entered her destination: 000, New York City. So it was totally lame of her to cut me in line. Her train had literally just passed. There would be an 8:16 and an 8:21 that she could catch! I could practically hear mine coming.
The next part of this process was where things completely fell apart.
Let me tell you something. At 8:05, during the peak rush commute in the morning, you do not step up to that machine without knowing exactly what ticket type you need. I can forgive a relative unfamiliarity with the machine. Some wouldn't even be that nice, but I say we all gotta learn sometime, even if it is during the morning. If you step up to that machine, though, and don't know whether or not you need a one-way to NY or a round trip to Trenton, then there is going to be a serious problem. Are you coming back, or not? How many times? That is a waste of everyone's time, and when this woman asked her friend if they were getting 10 adult tickets or something else, that's also why I said something to them.
"You know, I have to catch a train in, like, two minutes."
The one who didn't know she'd cut the line got mad. "Yes," she said, "that's why we're all here waiting in line; we've been waiting ten minutes for our turn!"
She was a cutter and a liar. I was there when she had gotten in line. Ahead of me. A minute before. Illegally.
"But you cut me," I said.
She turned around in a huff. Meanwhile, as all this was happening, her friend's debit card hadn't gone through three times in a row because she didn't know the trick to correctly pulling it out after she swiped. She couldn't buy her ten adult tickets for the train that had just passed because her transaction had been canceled. They walked away mad, not wanting to further hold up the huge line that had formed behind them. At least they had the decency not to try again.
Long story short, I barely made the train today. You might be thinking I should buy my tickets ahead of time, or just opt for the monthly pass, but those are topics for another day.
IIIriderIIIII
I ride the train...
I'm a brand new college graduate about to begin my first real job commute, but don't get me wrong - I wouldn't have started a blog about riding the train without knowing about the train. Northeast Corridor, holla!
Sorry.
Because I've never really had a car, I've been using New Jersey Transit for years. I take it to and from my part-time job now, and I'll use it for my new job that begins in September. I take it back and forth to visit friends and family, to go down the shore, to get to New York, to Philly, and to pretty much anywhere else I might need to that's not within walking distance of city limits.
As I move forward, though, and evolve from a "poor student" who takes public transportation as a necessity to a young professional who rides the train for convenience's sake, I'd like to mark my progress. My... NJ Transition, if you will.
It seems as though riding the train is a daily adventure, or at the very least an amusing anecdote, and I think a few people who can relate might get a kick out of my take on things. At the very least, you can bemusedly latch onto the ramblings of a nuanced railway passenger.
IIIriderIIIII
P.S. Sometimes I ride the bus too.
Sorry.
Because I've never really had a car, I've been using New Jersey Transit for years. I take it to and from my part-time job now, and I'll use it for my new job that begins in September. I take it back and forth to visit friends and family, to go down the shore, to get to New York, to Philly, and to pretty much anywhere else I might need to that's not within walking distance of city limits.
As I move forward, though, and evolve from a "poor student" who takes public transportation as a necessity to a young professional who rides the train for convenience's sake, I'd like to mark my progress. My... NJ Transition, if you will.
It seems as though riding the train is a daily adventure, or at the very least an amusing anecdote, and I think a few people who can relate might get a kick out of my take on things. At the very least, you can bemusedly latch onto the ramblings of a nuanced railway passenger.
IIIriderIIIII
P.S. Sometimes I ride the bus too.
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