Stranger in a familiar land

So I had to go into NYC for an appt and given the place's proximity to Penn Station I had to take the bus to get there. I tend to avoid taking NYC buses because they intimidate me but I was left with no choice. So the bus arrives and I'm psyching myself up like "yeah, this time I'm gonna dip my metro card the right way on the FIRST try." But as I'm waiting I notice that no one is dipping their metro card. Instead they all have little white receipts. Immediately I realized the machines that I had been staring at for the past 5 minutes were where I was supposed to get my receipt. Apparently the NYC Select Bus Service is their Bus Rapid Transit system and payment operates much like the NJ Transit Light Rail. You put your metro card in the machine, pay for your fare and then you show your receipt as validation. Who knew?! Oh, maybe people that can read or that can put two and two together. I looked at the machines and thought they were metro card machines. I mean, I'm a New Yorker but I'm not a New York City Yorker. I haven't made the complete change into a Jersey girl but I always took my car into the city, more often than not, so I never really had to deal with this stuff. Right now, at the height of the morning commute, I could read everyone's mind as they called me out for not being one of them and probably being from Jersey.

I don't think I've ever ridden BRT before but once I was on I knew what it was. The bus transmitters communicating via the flashing lights, the dedicated bus lane...all the makings of an efficient ride. My favorite part of the system was waiting for the bus on my way back. *geek alert* The bus stop had an LED board with the name of the bus and the EXACT time that the bus will arrive based on its current location along the route!

Oh how I WISH NJ Transit could be so progressive. It doesn't have to be this fancy and it doesn't have to be for BRT. Right now they have this system in place: I text the number at my bus stop and you tell me when the bus should arrive based on its fixed schedule. Is real time too much to ask? Especially since the buses tend to either run early or late. It would be nice to know for certain that I just missed the bus because it came early rather than standing there wondering where the darn bus is. If I know I have to wait an hour I might go get food or find another way to bide the time but without that information I just stand there afraid to move.

Growing up on Westchester's Bee-Line service, I'm used to riding the bus and don't mind it at all. I didn't get my license until I was 23 so I was used to getting around without a car. I applaud Westchester for making that an easy and convenient choice. Even though I was tempted to get a cab, the BRT was actually faster.

I know that BRT is already in the works in parts of NJ. Let's hope that well continue to make investments in transit despite the skewed priorities of those in our House of (Mis)Representatives.

For those interested in finding out more about the Select Service click here: http://www.mta.info/nyct/sbs/