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NYPD are not checking for receipts. MTA fare inspectors are.
I know... I've been saying this throughout the whole thread. People keep saying "cops" check tickets, etc.... Those guy are merely MTA employees who are assigned to be inspectors.
Paris has fully protected bus lanes in the central city. Works fine, although they allow cabs and bikes (the horror) to use the protected bus lanes.
The main problem with the SBS on 34th Street is that there will be quite a few tourists who will try to bus 34th Street which means that you have the issue that these tourists don't have the education on SBS as locals. The main problem with SBS is the pay outside system it uses which is only really because they want to be able to use multiple door boarding. If they had fare machines at each door then the problem would be solved.
No. Paying outside makes boarding much quicker. People can just board the bus with no holdups. If they had fare machines at each door, you would have issues with the morons who don't know how to dip their MetroCard and that slows things down. Additionally, how can you prove to the inspectors you paid if you're only dipping your card and you don't get a receipt? The driver can't keep track of 3 doors and who paid/who didn't.
Really,there is no need to LOATHE or get all agitated about SBS.You can easily ignore the whole concept by not going to an SBS stop and not getting on a bus with flashing blue lights all over it.No one is asking or forcing you to deal with payment machines that are too complicated for you.Just take the regular bus and pretend SBS doesn't exist.Surely NOW you know the difference if you didn't before.Just don't leap on any busses with flashing blue lights !
That would all be fine IF they hadn't allocated 2 or 3 Select Buses for every Local bus, thus making the wait for a Local bus more than twice as long.
Thus we ARE being forced to walk farther to catch a bus and then deal withe the vagaries of the silly machines. The alternative is MUCH longer waits for the Local bus (often at our doorstep.)
Are we aware that there is a lot of vandalism in NYC? How long before it will become a favorite teenage game to quickly swipe a little quick epoxy into each ticket slot? Assuming that is not the reason for all the out of order machines today.
SBS is the single dumbest idea the MTA has ever had, and that's out of a is a pretty formidable pile of dumb ideas.
Run the MTA with a TAX on EVERYONE and eliminate all these goofy collection schemes, undercover cops watching turnstiles, and packs of Select receipt sniffing, highly paid drones.
(I know, that would be a progressive tax and thus the cab and limo crowd would scream bloody murder.)
No. Paying outside makes boarding much quicker. People can just board the bus with no holdups. If they had fare machines at each door, you would have issues with the morons who don't know how to dip their MetroCard and that slows things down. Additionally, how can you prove to the inspectors you paid if you're only dipping your card and you don't get a receipt? The driver can't keep track of 3 doors and who paid/who didn't.
The same way they check every other metrocard - with the portable reader. Walk past and dip - it is no different to the other 200 bus lines around.
That would all be fine IF they hadn't allocated 2 or 3 Select Buses for every Local bus, thus making the wait for a Local bus more than twice as long. Thus we ARE being forced to walk farther to catch a bus and then deal withe the vagaries of the silly machines. The alternative is MUCH longer waits for the Local bus (often at our doorstep.)
Are we aware that there is a lot of vandalism in NYC? How long before it will become a favorite teenage game to quickly swipe a little quick epoxy into each ticket slot? Assuming that is not the reason for all the out of order machines today.
SBS is the single dumbest idea the MTA has ever had, and that's out of a is a pretty formidable pile of dumb ideas.
Run the MTA with a TAX on EVERYONE and eliminate all these goofy collection schemes, undercover cops watching turnstiles, and packs of Select receipt sniffing, highly paid drones.
(I know, that would be a progressive tax and thus the cab and limo crowd would scream bloody murder.)
No you're not. The regular bus stops have not changed at all. The only difference in bus stops is that SBS stops have been ADDED in certain areas. No bus stops were eliminated on the local buses.
The same way they check every other metrocard - with the portable reader. Walk past and dip - it is no different to the other 200 bus lines around.
So, you think it would be a better idea for the MTA to spend even MORE money to provide the inspectors with "portable readers" so they can check that people paid? Ridiculous. 1. The problem does not lie with the outside machines --- it lies with the morons who don't know how to use them or ignore everything and just get on the bus and have to have the driver explain to them how it works and they STILL don't get it. 2. The "portable readers" would take longer to use than simply someone handing over a ticket that shows the date/time/direction on it.
"Walk past and dip" is not an easily understood concept for many --- I can't tell you how many times I'm trying to get on a local bus (sometimes in the pouring rain) and the imbecile ahead is standing there, fumbling around, trying to figure out how to dip a MetroCard.
No you're not. The regular bus stops have not changed at all. The only difference in bus stops is that SBS stops have been ADDED in certain areas. No bus stops were eliminated on the local buses.
No bus STOPS were eliminatated but plenty of local BUSES HAVE been eliminated. The net result is much longer waits for local buses and very densely packed buses when the DO arrive.
The Select Buses sail by merrily with very few people.
So, you think it would be a better idea for the MTA to spend even MORE money to provide the inspectors with "portable readers" so they can check that people paid? Ridiculous. 1. The problem does not lie with the outside machines --- it lies with the morons who don't know how to use them or ignore everything and just get on the bus and have to have the driver explain to them how it works and they STILL don't get it. 2. The "portable readers" would take longer to use than simply someone handing over a ticket that shows the date/time/direction on it.
"Walk past and dip" is not an easily understood concept for many --- I can't tell you how many times I'm trying to get on a local bus (sometimes in the pouring rain) and the imbecile ahead is standing there, fumbling around, trying to figure out how to dip a MetroCard.
Portable readers aren't too expensive to buy. I believe they cost something like $750 each, which isn't bad when you consider how many tickets you can check with them.
It's nearly a year later, but I feel compelled to reply to this post, especially in these post Hurricane Sandy days when so many people are forced to take new routes including the East River Ferry. What common sense would dictate is for there to be no need to get a receipt - what bus drivers and the machines incorrectly call a "ticket" - when you have purchased an unlimited card, with fares increasing more and more frequently, that has always served as a transfer (and proof of purchase) in the past, no extra step needed. What would make sense and what silly people probably think is actually the case would be for these machines to be a way of purchasing a metrocard right there at the bus stop. There is a concept. The SBS "ticket" requirement is counterintuitive and just another way for the city/state to make money off of a broken system. The MTA working on a pseudo honor system is what is "really that difficult" to understand.
It's nearly a year later, but I feel compelled to reply to this post, especially in these post Hurricane Sandy days when so many people are forced to take new routes including the East River Ferry. What common sense would dictate is for there to be no need to get a receipt - what bus drivers and the machines incorrectly call a "ticket" - when you have purchased an unlimited card, with fares increasing more and more frequently, that has always served as a transfer (and proof of purchase) in the past, no extra step needed. What would make sense and what silly people probably think is actually the case would be for these machines to be a way of purchasing a metrocard right there at the bus stop. There is a concept. The SBS "ticket" requirement is counterintuitive and just another way for the city/state to make money off of a broken system. The MTA working on a pseudo honor system is what is "really that difficult" to understand.
The thing is that they use the number of receipts purchased to get a ridership count for the SBS route. While I do agree that if somebody has an unlimited, they should just let them go if they couldn't get a receipt, I still think you should be required to get a receipt when using an unlimited card. (It's just that they shouldn't be wasting everybody's time giving them a summons when they already paid for their ride, and I say everybody because the MTA wastes time when the person has to go to the hearing and contest the fine).
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