Public Reports Will Aid Transparency At ‘Hollowed-Out’ NJ Transit

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Want to know if NJ Transit is making the trains run on time in the Garden State? Soon you’ll be able to find out the answer yourself at the click of a mouse, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday.

On Aug. 19, Murphy signed Executive Order No. 80 during a press conference in Montclair. The order requires NJ Transit to share its rail performance stats with the public every month through the agency’s website.

According to a statement from Murphy’s office:

“The key performance metrics contained in the monthly releases will include the total number of cancellations each month and a listing of the specific types of cancellations, on-time rail performance and mean distance between failures of each NJ Transit line, and other information that the Commissioner of Transportation deems appropriate to inform commuters of commuter rail performance. NJ Transit will provide the public with a uniform progress report beginning with data from October 2019, to be released in November 2019. The release will also include historical month-by-month information dating back to January 2017.”

The new policy is one way the state is acting on a Murphy-ordered October 2018 audit, the governor’s office stated.

That audit found several issues at NJ Transit, including flaws in its budgeting process, a “significant talent drain” to its workforce and “no active asset management system” in place.

• See related article: ‘Budget Woes, 'Talent Drain' Among Issues Cited In NJ Transit Audit

After the report’s release, multiple NJ Transit officials embraced its findings.

"These audit results and recommendations will serve as the road map to rebuild NJ Transit to the national leader it once was," NJ Transit President and CEO Kevin Corbett said.

According to Gov. Murphy, Monday’s executive order is a step forward in providing transparency and accountability for commuters.

“The step we’re taking today requiring performance metrics to be released monthly will give rail commuters the information they need to make informed decisions and provide accountability to the public in real time,” Murphy said.

Transportation Commissioner and NJ Transit Board Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti gave her approval to Murphy’s order.

“Formalizing the reporting requirements through an executive order ensures that NJ Transit will be held accountable for its performance for administrations to come,” Gutierrez-Scaccetti said.

On Monday, Corbett said when he first arrived at NJ Transit, he found a “hollowed-out, severely neglected” organization. But recently, the agency has begun to bounce back, taking aggressive measures to tackle its problems with recruiting, infrastructure and capital projects.

“As a result, we are rapidly restoring the depleted ranks of employees and seeing improved performance that indicates we’ve turned a corner,” Corbett said. “But make no mistake, we still have a lot of ground to make up.”

• See related article: Murphy Signs Historic NJ Transit Reforms, Vows It Will Improve
• See related article: Half Of NJ Public Transit Users Admit They Do Gross Stuff, Study Claims

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Montclair Facebook page. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com