Buy train tickets from your phone! Great job, NJ Transit! (Never thought I'd say that.)
It was the fastest I had run in my life. My backpack bounced left and right on my back, harshly pressing me on with each step. My brother Ricky, though more stressed than I was, lagged behind. His long-legged strides weren't fast enough.We were about to miss the Dinky.Okay, okay, so maybe I could've packed my bag more quickly. But, come on, Ricky didn't have to show me that stupid Youtube video. Regardless, we sprinted towards the station, under our breaths cursing the Arts & Transit Neighborhood like never before.We made it just as the Dinky began to move. The conductor almost barred our entry, physically. We slid past him, ignoring his protests and throwing words in his direction about how we couldn't miss the train, we made these plans a while ago, Matthew you're so stupid, Ricky no you are. In the end, he sold us tickets. But they were $4 extra, each. That was my lunch money!
***
I wish I could say I learned a lesson that day, but in reality, it seems like every time I need to take the Dinky I'm sprinting over there at the last minute. But the point is I don't need to worry about that mean ol' conductor anymore. (But let's be real: normally those guys are pretty nice!) Why, you may ask? Because now NJ Transit offers the MyTix app, where you can easily buy and present train tickets digitally!I downloaded the app five minutes ago (although it's apparently been around since January), and happily discovered that NJ Transit actually did a great job! Setting up is simple - just follow the steps at the end of the post.I just wonder how the conductor notes whether a digital ticket has been used. The potential bad news is you can no longer end up with an un-hole-punched, reusable (What? Cheat the ticketing system? Never!) ticket.At the very least you'll stop having that nightmare where you're buying tickets at the bottom of the stairs when suddenly the train pulls away as the machine takes its time, sloooowly, sloooowly printing out that useless receipt.
