This evening after work, my friend Avery, who I carpool with, had something to do after work. So since he could not drive me home as he normally does, he was kind enough to drop me at the bus stop so I could catch the 4:30pm bus – which I did…

…when it “promptly” arrived at 5:25pm.

For 55 minutes, I stood in 20-degree weather watching hundreds of cars pass me by – without a single bus in sight. As the minutes I waited increased – so did my use of four letter words. I was wearing a warm suit, earmuffs and gloves – and still could not feel my fingers and toes. And when the bus finally arrived – the driver actually had the nerve to get mad at me when I got on the bus and said, “It’s about time!”

As you may realize by the title of this column – this is not the first time that I have experienced such “glorious” service from a transportation system whose slogan is, “The Way To Go.” And Julie’s experiences have been no different. Her record amount of time for waiting for a bus is – believe it or not – a full hour. This has happened to me close to a half-dozen times – and close to a dozen for her. Whether it is bright, sunny and warm – or cold, bitter and snowing – Julie and I could have walked home before a bus would pull up in front of us many times, no matter how far from home we were.

I can’t tell you how many times she or I have been alone, or together – and splurged for a cab because we were sick and tired of waiting for a bus that we felt would never come. No matter how much it costs – or how much (or how little) money we have had in our pockets – we didn’t care and would have gladly spent our last dollar to get home in a reasonable amount of time.

What really irks me is that they actually have the nerve to provide copies of their “schedules” on each bus – when they never, ever, adhere to it. In my opinion, the schedule should list their routes – but have “when we damn well feel like it” as the time of arrival for each stop. Each and every time Julie and I have caught a bus with a scheduled arrival time – it has arrived late – and at a different time.

I am a native New Yorker, and have dealt with the “pleasantries” of the New York City bus and subway systems for 36 years of my life. But I have to say that New Jersey Transit is just as bad as my home state. Yes, it is cheaper – but I would pay triple just to be able to catch a bus when it is scheduled to arrive – and not have a train break down and be stuck on a platform for over an hour waiting for what they call a “rescue train.”

If you ever plan to visit The Garden State and plan to take public transportation – good luck – you’re going to need it.

No wonder why Diane from Above All Taxi knows me by my first name.