USA Bus Lines

Help Getting There - Taxi or Bus to Port Jefferson LIRR (NY)?

All right, let me briefly touch on my situation first - I'm going to be 18 in February, and I'm not allowed to live at home anymore. It's not because I'm a bad kid. It's just what has to happen. This isn't what the question is about, so that is all I'll say on the matter. Anyway, I found a place to live upstate. I'm really nervous. I have the Amtrak portion of my trip worked out, but my biggest worry is getting to the LIRR train station. I have NO help from my family whatsoever. Pretend they don't exist when giving me your answer, please. I'm leaving from Rocky Point, NY and need to arrive at the Port Jefferson LIRR station, going to Penn. There are two bus stops that I know of in walking distance, but I never see buses there, nor do I know where they go or if they're even anything more than just a wall of advertisements. I checked the MTA website for bus routes and schedules, but I'm completely lost, this is a foreign language to me. Because I don't really know anything about the bus system in Suffolk County, I considered shelling out what extra money I can for a taxi there. But alas, I haveknow idea how that works too! I don't know how far a cab service will travel to you, how far they will travel, how long it takes them to get a cab ready, FARE rates, etc etc etc. I really would like some help, I'm scared. For this entire thing the only part that scares me to death is messing up this part of the trip. I'm sorry for the wall of text. I know this isn't exactly what you're supposed to do, but if you need further information that I did not provide here please contact the email I have for yahoo answers - tail.fluff@yahoo.com Thanks, any help would be appreciated. And don't give me B.S. answers like "lol u suk dumarse" * I think I may have put this in the wrong section, blah. I have no idea.

Public Comments

1. Should not be too hard. Bring up this link for the bus schedule: http://www.sct-bus.org/schedules/s62.pdf Print it out if it will help. There is a Saturday schedule and a Weekday schedule, but they both work the same way - only the times will be be a little different. Look at the section titled Westbound Service (for Saturday or Weekday). In the 7th column, headed Rocky Point Shopping Plaza (I assume that is one of the bus stops you mention), are the times when an number S62 bus is supposed to stop there. So, on weekdays, the first bus leaves there at 6:20 AM, the next one at 7:37 AM, then 8:35 AM and so on down the column. The early morning ones are likely to be quite crowded, as those will be used by people getting to work. For less crowding, you may want to consider a bus from the mid-morning to mid-afternoon, or a weekend one. But the timing may depend more on when the train leaves. If you then look in the 11th column (Port Jefferson Railroad), the numbers in that column indicate when the bus leaves that point. It obviously has to arrive before then, but they don't put arrival times. Get off the bus when it gets there. In places where there is no time shown, the bus does not stop. There are two buses that make a stop at Rocky Point - S62, and 5A. It really does not matter which one you get on. The fare is the same, and they both stop at the Port Jefferson Railroad. The difference is that 5A takes a longer route to get there. See the route map here: http://www.sct-bus.org/images/stsystemmap.pdf The buses should display the route number on the front, and may have a sign that shows one or more destinations. S62 would probably show something like Smith Haven Mall, or Hauppauge. Make sure you get on the westbound bus, NOT the one gong to Riverhead. The regular fare is $1.50 (No change is given, so exact change is the way to go). If you have a high school ID, then your fare would be $1.00. You can call 631-852-5200 - Monday to Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm - for more information. You could give it a test ride before you have to do it for real. Pick up the bus at Rocky Point, ride it to the railroad station, then ride one back again. That would give you a good idea of what it is like, and, for a couple of dollars, might make you feel a lot better about the real trip. One thing about bus schedules - they are only sort of reliable. Lots of things can disrupt them, unusual traffic, bad weather and such can make them late. But they do show up eventually. Good luck. If you have any questions when you get on the bus, don't be afraid to ask the driver, or a fellow passenger. Hopefully, they will be polite enough to give you an answer - kind of hard to tell, but asking is always an option.