Simplifying TAPP for NJ Transit
- Jul 22
- 1 min read
Updated: Jul 28
This is a quick one.
NJ Transit introduced a new payment system and put these ads in train cars.

I can't read it. Tell me what it says. No, wait, I can do it. No actually, I can't, I'm busy, and the guy next to me keeps elbowing me in the ribcage.
Here's what I find challenging. The sentence is not at all scannable. Six of the 12 words are either title case or an acronym. It's like confused German. And as for the acronyms—if you ever find yourself using one to define another, just remember that your reader is hanging on by a thread.
What's actually important here? It's that PATH has a new payment system. And you ought to get it.
There are simpler ways to share this message. I'd propose this:

It's cleaner. It's scannable. It has the right amount of info. No one needs to know what TAPP stands for. I already forgot. The key takeaway: just go download TAPP.
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