I need to vent here for a moment
OK … so it wasn’t bad enough that I had to wait for the bus in the rain for 20 minutes today. When we pulled up to the last stop before the Lincoln Tunnel, a small group of Italian tourists tried to come aboard. They had to be explained the concept of ‘exact change’. This took about 10 minutes. As this was happening, swarms of more tourists were coming toward the bus. I mean dozens upon dozens.
It was like the Sheraton Hotel had completely emptied out and spilled over to the Exxon station on 19th Street in Weehawken. With each cluster that crowded into the doorway of the bus, the ‘exact change’ concept had to be re-explained. Finally it seemed the concept had sunk in as several of the tourists swiftly paid with two singles, a quarter and a nickel. We’re now 20 minutes into this and I’m getting antsy. What was at first somewhat comical soon became an utter annoyance. Then it happened.
An older gentleman gets on and wants to pay for 10 people. He pulls out a twenty. With that the bus driver tries to explain that the machine only takes singles. The man was getting irritated but finally agrees to leave the bus to get change from the gas station. The driver, trying to be accommodating to the group, offered to wait. That’s when I lost it. I yelled out, “Come on! Let’s go! Some of us have to get to work! We don’t have time to wait for them to get change! There are other buses coming!!” Finally the driver closes the door after more than 25 minutes of this and drives on.
The irony here is that the bus that comes right across from the hotel is twice as large and does not require exact change. Besides, why not charter a bus at this point? There were about 50 tourists eager to get into the city (in addtion to the nearly 20 who had just gotten on this bus). A charter would have probably been cheaper and far more convenient for all.
Now to the point of why I hate tourists. I’ve been one plenty of times in my life and the one lesson I’ve learned is to respect the natives. You may be on vacation so to you lollygagging about and gawking at the sites is natural. However the folks that live here still have places to go, work to do and schedules to keep. So take care of getting change before hand.
Learn about the local currency so when the bus driver says, “I need a nickel,” you’ll know what she means. Don’t block sidewalks, doorways, escalators and the like. And please, for God’s sake don’t hold up busses and trains. Just think of what it’s like when you’re back home and trying to get to work on time.
