New City Bus System “Un-fare”?

By Carlos Hiciano

“I didn’t know,” the woman said, holding a summons that will cost her $100. “This was my first time riding this bus.” New to this country, the woman (seen above getting the ticket) wasn’t familiar with the Bx12 Select service, which requires a receipt or “proof of purchase.” 

She isn’t the only one having trouble with the new service.

“I don’t get why we have to pay BEFORE getting on the bus,” said commuter Crystal Paulino. “Besides, the machine is always broken.” 

Rossana Clemete of the Bronx couldn’t talk her way out of a summons.

 “The officer doesn’t wanna hear about it,” Clemete said. “They just wanna fill their quotas and be on their way.”

There are differences between the average bus service and the MTA’s Bx12 Select. For one, it’s a reliable ride straight across the Bronx, along Fordham Road and Pelham Parkway before ending up in Orchard Beach. But the biggest difference is the payment method. Instead of paying after you hop on, you have to insert your MetroCard into a machine that produces a “proof of purchase” receipt.

Get caught riding the Select without one and you’re fined $100.

 Several recent visits to the machines found long lines. 

”By the time I got my receipt, the bus left half of us behind,” said local bus rider Ana Tavarez.

The Bronx Journal repeatedly called the MTA’s public information office to ask about the service. Several respondents first requested that their names not be used, then said: “No comment.”

As with anything, there will always be those who take advantage of the system.

”Honestly I never pay for it… I’ve never gotten caught,” boasted 21-year-old Jordan Perez. “And I don’t think I will.”

 So many people ride this bus without paying, he added. “I think it’s the best and worst thing the MTA has done.”