After Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed an executive order aimed at improving service on New Jersey Transit, the agency said it will listen to riders in order to help develop a plan.
Those riders have plenty of thoughts on how to make their commutes better.
“There has to be a way to do better!” said Darcy Hall, the day after Sherrill’s order that gave NJ Transit 45 days to come up with a comprehensive improvement plan.
It calls on the state’s Commissioner of Transportation to find a way the agency can, in Hall’s words, “do better.” The plan focuses on four key areas:
- Cleanliness of stations, stops, buses and rail cars
- Accessibility of escalators and boarding areas
- Public safety, including lighting, cameras and police presence
- Digital experience for riders, a.k.a. how reliable the real-time trackers are
“That’s the number 1 thing: What it says on the app, I want it to be when the train actually arrives,” said one rider.
NJ Transit’s customer advocate will hold three public listening sessions in the coming weeks to help develop a plan. The first will be held Tuesday, March 31.
Until then, what do riders want to see fixed? There were a myriad of issues they told NBC New York:
- “Sometimes they’re on time, sometimes not. It all depends, like today.”
- “I like the service, but the points I notice, though: The inconsistency with the time, when the app says this and then there’s an announcement — oh, they’re 18 minutes late,” said Maurice Quick.
- “Only problem I would have would be Newark-Penn, where it feels a little bit more unsafe when you’re standing on the [platform].”
- “It would be great if you could see out the windows – because the windows are fogged over! So when you come in you don’t know where you are, because you can’t see out the foggy windows.”
While not every rider had a complaint, many do. The findings will be relayed back to the governor, with changes expected in the months ahead.
A public survey will also be made available on NJ Transit’s website. Riders could start seeing some changes implemented by late June.
