Sherrill gives NJ Transit 45 days to plan improvements for riders

Gov. Mikie Sherrill is giving NJ Transit 45 days to develop a plan to quickly improve the rider experience for Garden State commuters, she announced Tuesday.

In Secaucus Junction Station, the governor signed an executive order requiring the transit agency to submit a “comprehensive, binding” plan to improve the rider experience. Once the plan is submitted in May, Sherrill said, the agency will be tasked with implementing the proposals. 

“This order is just the first step to delivering more efficient, reliable transit service in our state today and a world-class transit system tomorrow,” the governor said at a press conference.

The executive order says the plan should touch on station cleanliness, accessibility, signage, safety, lighting, and the usability of NJ Transit’s website and mobile app.

Newly confirmed Transportation Commissioner Priya Jain said the project will lead to tangible improvements within the transit system and improve the consistency of rides.

“New Jersey Transit has made real progress, and that progress matters,” Jain said. “But we also know that customer experience hasn’t always been consistent, and consistency is what riders feel. This executive order is an important step forward.”

The order also requires Franck Beaumin, NJ Transit’s customer advocate, to hold three listening sessions with the public and post a survey on the agency’s website. Beaumin must present information from those sessions and the survey to NJ Transit within 30 days.

NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said the order is pragmatic and will lead to quick improvements in the day-to-day experience of New Jersey’s commuters.

“What the governor is doing is saying we’re going to do something about it, which, frankly, is a departure from how we have thought about reliability over 45 years of New Jersey Transit,” he said.

The executive order doesn’t touch on the operational issues that have caused massive delays or cancellations in recent years. But Sherrill and transportation officials said other improvements of late — including the opening of a new Portal Bridge and the replacement of NJ Transit’s entire fleet by 2031 — will improve operational reliability as well as the rider experience.

“There’s a 45-day reporting requirement to come forward in May with the plan of action and then take those steps to make these improvements quickly so that we have both the basic things that we’re doing well, and then I think commuters are going to trust us with a longer-term plan like the Portal Bridge and the Gateway tunnel project.”