#dollar van

“Ayo REAL SHIT MY NIGGA… WE GET IN AN ACCIDENT YOU BETTER HOPE YOU GO TO JAIL B…”

Ode to the dollar van

The New Jersey Dollar Van.

That just sounds sketchy, doesn't it?

In the continued tour of NY area public transportation that is my tutoring job, I now once a week ride the A line up to George Washington Bridge and take the dollar van to a home in Bergen County. Since the "van" is a minibus and the price is more like $3, the actual name--something much less catchy like "express bus service"--might be more accurate. I am not yet a seasoned traveler on this mode of transportation, but I can already tell that it is quintessential Jersey.

For example, you must scream out your stop's name as the bus approaches it, even though you've already told the driver because 1) he forgot and 2) he is screaming himself into his cell phone, to be heard over the Jewish mama screaming in the middle of the van. If you don't actually know what your stop looks like, this can be a problem; the first time I missed "River Road" and ended up at "River Edge," outside a cemetery.