M15 Select Bus Service

New year. Same crappy service. Waited 45 minutes out of the blistering cold only to see NOT IN SERVICE. Seriously why can’t they get their schedules right?

It’s not the best, but living on 1^st Ave in Kips Bay, I’d rather take the bus than walk all the way to the 6 train and stand on a hot platform. I didn’t use the bus for the longest time because I was confused about how it worked. You have to pay for your ticket BEFORE boarding at the machines located at the bus stop. Then hold on to that receipt because occasionally they will check for them.
This is an «express» bus, so it stops about every 10 blocks. It’s a relatively fast way to get from downtown to uptown and it’s air conditioned!

A couple of years back, hoping to make for a time saving solution, MTA planted bulky machines by certain ‘Select’ bus stops. You insert your metro card into the machine and out comes a teeny receipt/​in-​voice saying that you’ve paid your $ 2.50/right to get on the bus/​due diligence.
Recently though, they’re have been a surplus in the number of ticket-​writing cops at these bus stops along 1^st and 2^nd Avenue, even during peak hours. Most recently, I’ve been asked to show my receipt/​in-​voice on the 23^rd street stop, twice in one given week.
So be careful folks. It’s the honor system here! Pay and ride.