Pretty pleeeease!
Reader Mail: Dumpy Old Buses
15
May
5/15/2008:
Today, Hoboken411 reader Matt wonders why Hoboken has the bottom-of-the-line NJ Transit Buses. Is it because it’s such a short trip? Or that NJT doesn’t love us?
Old School Buses
“Did you ever notice that Hoboken probably has the oldest New Jersey Transit Bus fleet in the State? While there are some of the newer models that run Washington St., most of the #126 Line buses are the late 1980’s Flixible buses. Seems like the rest of Jersey gets the newer Greener Natural Gas buses. I wonder how safe and environmentally friendly these dumpy old buses are? All I know is that it is rare that you get on one of these buses on the Clinton or Willow line and the A/C works or there are not 100’s of bone shaking rattles. I think you can probably get bed bugs or Ebola from the seat cushions too.”
How many bus riders feel the same way?
Hoboken, Commuting, NJ Transit, Buses, Old, Dumpy
1. Plaxico | May 15th, 2008 at 10:50 am
Even worse tha the older buses are the new coaches…
The ones with the narrow aisles, one door & high back seats…
It’s a cluster fuck every morning…
Mommmy & the kids run all the way to the back, the bus fills up & then mommy & the kids need to get off with the aisles full…
And most only ride about 5 or 6 blocks…
No wonder the kids are fat…
Pure comedy…
2. LivinUptown | May 15th, 2008 at 10:59 am
JUST GIVE ME A/C ON THE FREAKIN BUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3. nosferatu | May 15th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
The coach buses are ridiculous. Obviously, they’re there to fill in during the morning rush, and designed for the people who are getting on and not getting off until Port Authority.
But holy shit on a stick… when someone DOES have to get off in Hoboken, it’s a nightmare.
I’d rather take the old rickety buses than the coaches anyday.
4. Lady | May 15th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Let’s not forget about the fact that these old buses…
- leak whenever if rains and the seats never really seem to dry from it — hence creating the lovely mildew smell….
- for those with a back door, half of them have signs on with a hand pointing to the front that says “use the front door” but envitably someone yells: “BACK DOOR, please” over and over….
- then there’s those who use $ bills from the bar that are still wet from beer and will never go into the money collector but they try and try and hold up the line only to ask someone if they will exchange the dollar for another(no i don’t want your nasty money)…
- and seriously — it is too much to ask for A/C? and when the A/C isn’t working, ladies — let’s open the windows, don’t worry about your hair blowing the air — think about the sweat dripping down your back! and if it bothers you that much, just walk!!
Whew….
5. Plaxico | May 15th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
I started walking to the PATH from 13th once the weather broke…
It takes about the same time.
6. fur75 | May 15th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Plaxico wrote:
you should walk in the winter time too you fat fuck
7. lily731 | May 15th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
i passed out on the bus last wednesday morning, yep, literally fainted. i wonder if that was an old or new bus?
8. bmacqueens | May 15th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
lily731 wrote:
No, that was Tuesday night. You woke up on the bus on Wednesday morning. Was a heck of a night at City Bistro. Wanna see the pictures? You were quite the star of the party.
I KEED! I KEED!
9. bmacqueens | May 15th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
fur75 wrote:
TWEET! Unnecessary roughness on the offense. Ten yards, loss of down.
10. HansBrix | May 16th, 2008 at 6:24 am
Well, the 126 route (two zone max) IS just about the shortest one in the NJT system. Also I don’t see any irony if the 126 fleet seems like campus buses. As long as the AC is working and I’m not sitting under a downspout it’s good enough.
11. oceanbloo | May 16th, 2008 at 9:23 am
I got rained on in a 126 earlier this week, and so did the guy in front of me. There wasn’t anywhere to go as the bus was jam-packed with lots of people standing (morning rush).
Growing up elsewhere, rain was just rain. Here, every time it rains, public transportation becomes a nightmare (incl. NYC subway at times, even Amtrak), flooding happens, major inconvenience results.
12. jscirish27 | May 16th, 2008 at 9:41 am
OB, I feel your pain; this area is so densely populated that the public transportation system is taxed to the extreme. Rain always exacerbates the situation because there is no natural watershed and the excess runoff ends up in the tunnels (not to mention the potholes). Unfortunately, because our society has always been so attached to the automobile, we have never really developed and maintained an integrated public transportation system. Isn’t it insane that you can use a metrocard on the PATH but not on the 126? I used to take that godforsaken bus every day and now that I don’t (PATH again) I can honestly say I don’t miss it at all.
13. MidnightRacer | May 16th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Those older buses suck. Either, like others have told, you get rained on with no where to escape, or the window swings open on curves while your life passes before your eyes, or you get launched up to the ceiling if you’re sitting in the back and the suspension is no longer up to par. My favorite is when they open the doors to let passengers on, but the door won’t close - I got stranded once and we had to wait for another bus to come up us up because of this.
Yeah, the older 126 buses can be pretty rough. Here’s the gist of what a typical commute is like…
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FsdLqnm1osk
14. Katie_Scarlett | May 16th, 2008 at 11:58 am
lily731 wrote:
Are you diabetic, anemic or some other “ic” that would qualify as a pre-existing condition and cause you to pass out? Did you drink Tuesday night and get on the bus dehydrated?
I need more information so I know whether I should blame you or the bus!
Regardless: Did you ruin anyone’s commute? Did they call for an ambulance and stop the bus (or was it too crowded for the driver to even notice).
15. kooky kat | May 16th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Katie_Scarlett wrote:
This is exactly why I leave early in the morning. I almost passed out on the PATH one morning after a night of drinking without eating, thankfully, someone saw me turn green and let me sit down. I don’t like standing on the train or the bus because of that, so I make sure I get on a car/bus where I can sit down. I don’t want to hold up the entire train/bus because I couldn’t be bothered to eat the night before and drink excessively!
16. lily731 | May 16th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Katie_Scarlett wrote:
No, I’m not an “ic” with a pre-existing condition, and I didn’t drink Tuesday night. I think it was a combination of the bus was hot and stuffy (no a/c on, no windows open), it was early in the morning when I hadn’t eaten yet (I always eat breakfast as soon as I get to work), and probably mostly as a side effect to a new medication I had taken a couple of times earlier in the week.. I’ll be discussing it with my doctor today.
Yea, actually, haha, I passed out JUST as I was supposed to be getting off the bus after it stopped in port authority to let people out, so everyone behind me noticed (I was standing by the back door on the steps to be out of the way, and had a suitcase resting on the walkway). They did call an ambulance and a couple of people waited for a few minutes to make sure I was okay. I had to wait on the bus with the driver for a while for the paramedics to get there.
17. el norte | May 16th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Twenty four hour service would be appreciated.
And why the Sunday schedule slap in the face?
18. Plaxico | May 16th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
fur75 wrote:
Sorry…
I’m the picture of health…