And since there aren't any automatic card readers on the bus, the passengers are supposed to tell the bus driver which zone they are traveling to. That is a lot of zones for a passenger to sort through to try to figure out how much money they need for the bus. What makes this system complex is that there are approximately thirty-nine zones in northern New Jersey. Once you have the pass, if you board in a particular city, that's where your fare zone will start. It doesn't matter which city you buy your bus pass in. If you board the bus in Newark, you get off in Paterson, you have traveled four zones, so the bus fare is $3.50 plus seventy cents for a transfer. So if you are in Newark, you board the bus in Newark, and you get off in Newark, then you have only traveled in one zone and the single ride fare is $1.50, plus an extra seventy cents for a transfer. For example, if you have a one-zone pass, as indicated in the picture to the right by the large number 1 in the middle of the pass, that allows you to travel anywhere in the city that you are boarding the bus in. What exactly is a fare zone? Well, depending on where a passenger is boarding the bus, a fare zone is basically the amount of money that the passenger pays for the distance that the passenger will be traveling. Now we get to the complex "fare zone" system. So I'm trying to figure out why NJT thinks its more important to have a durable receipt than a durable bus pass that you have to use for a whole month. What's even crazier about the bus pass issue is that the receipt that you get when you pay for your bus pass is printed out on a high-quality, card stock-type photo paper. Also, if you laminate your bus pass to protect it, its no longer valid. Also, because they are so flimsy, sometimes the wind will pull them right out of your hand and you may end up running down the street chasing your pass. This may hold up bus drivers, because the passes are color-coded according to the month, and if the driver does not see the color, they have to take extra time out to inspect the pass and make sure its valid.
The ink that is used to print the pass (they are actually printed out of a printer rather than having a card or something similar), fades out like watercolor paint that has been diluted. The passes are printed on thin, cheap paper that can easily be ripped or water-damaged in the slightest bit of rain.
Although this may not sound like a major issue, having cheap paper for a monthly bus pass poses a lot of problems for not only riders, but for drivers as well. The first upgrade that they should focus on is getting better paper for their monthly bus passes. As a former daily rider of NJT (New Jersey Transit) buses, I have come to the conclusion that it may be time for NJT to do some upgrades.
0 kommentar(er)
