NJ Transit Now Recording What Riders Are Saying

Thousands of NJ Transit riders will now have their conversations heard by somebody else.

NJ Transit has posted signs on many of its trains saying that video and audio systems are in use, and the agency says it's being done for safety's sake.

The signs say the trains are equipped with onboard video and audio recording systems, designed to make riders more secure are also recording the conversations of light rail passengers at all times.

NJ Transit is using video and audio surveillance systems on its River Line trains, and they're installing them on the Hudson-Bergen light rail system, for security reasons, according to The Daily Beast.

“Passengers have repeatedly told the agency that security is a priority in the quarterly scorecard surveys of riders,” NJ Transit spokesman Jim Smith told The Daily Beast. “The onboard surveillance systems are also a deterrent for crime and unruly behavior.”

Smith added that, in the agency's last commuter survey, riders gave security some of the highest rankings. But light rail riders indicated security could be improved, he told nj.com.

NJ.com, however, reported that some have taken issue with the practice.

"You expect some privacy. You don't have it if you are yelling across the car. If you're sitting next to a person and talking to them and you don't know there is a microphone picking up your conversation, our laws say you have a right to a private conversation," said Ed Barocas, legal director of the state American Civil Liberties Union.

Surveillance equipment cost $750,000 to install on River Line trains, while the $1.9 million expense to install them on Hudson-Bergen and Newark light rail trains is funded by a federal Homeland Security grant, according to the reports.