Along Market Street there are two and three bus stop shelters
per block on the north side. One is for New Jersey Transit busses, the
others are for SEPTA. They look identical except for the transit company
logo on the top side. NJT precede SEPTA shelters along Market Street.
NJT has a tricolor diagonal stripe, from left to right, of orange, violet,
blue. The busses are white.
All of the Jersey Transit busses take the same route into and out of Philadelphia.
You can pick up a bus to NJ on Market, North Broad, or Vine. Most Busses
go to the Walter Rand Transportation Center, a Hub in Camden. Trenton,
Cherry Hill, Fort Dix, Great Adventure amusement park and points between
and beyond. Fare is reasonable, seats are usually comfortable³, air
conditioned/heated, drivers helpful. The busses that cover Philly all
amass along Franklin Square, east. They may open their door to talk to
you, but they will not let you on. You have to stand at the southeast
corner of the park on 6th Street to board. This is the starting point.
There is no sign designating this as a bus stop. The last boarding point
for Philly is 8th & Vine. The busses all enter and depart Philly via
the Ben Franklin Bridge – which crosses the Delaware River –
just north of Race, to Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Camden. (Rt.30). The
busses all pass their starting point on the adjacent street and will not
stop near there to pick up passengers on their way out of town.
Fare does not vary between peak and off-peak and weekends and holidays.
Booklets of 10 trip tickets, good for 20 days after purchase, are available
at the WRTC and sometimes the driver has them. A book of 10 is a 18% savings.
Transfers are not available outside of NJ. Schedules for the bus you are
on are usually unavailable on that bus.
Avoid Greyhound unless you are long on patience and time.
There are at least two bus services that run between Philly’s Chinatown
to NYC’s Chinatown for $9.99. They are cramped, but the price is
right at $12.
http://www.ivymedia.com/todaysbus/newyork_philadelphia/index.html
http://www.2000coach.com/phillynewyork.html
Cabs Taxis
$2.70 to get in, metered in 30 cent increments per 1/7 mile. 30 cents
per minute of wait time. $26 flat fee for trip to airport from center
city. 12 percent tip made my driver happy.
For the unknowing, when the light is on it means the cab is available.
Extinguished light means they have a fare or are unavailable. Don’t
confuse the on-duty light with the oversized pup tent advertisement. Sharing
a cab does not cost more.
Do not hail a cab in front of or in close proximity of a bus stop.
Do not direct a driver to let you off in a bus stop zone. It is done and
it is rude.
Cabs are supposedly more regulated now, under the PPA (Philly PArking Authority).
Double-decker buses, phony trolleys, Handsome Cabs, and marine assault
vehicles called “Ducks” that resemble U.S.Army weasels. These
are all tourist ‘tubs.’
Handsome cabs are called Horse-drawn carriages. They are charming until
you are behind one.
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