Bill Could Give NJ Transit Riders Free Tickets For Delays

MORRISTOWN, NJ — New Jersey Transit riders could get a free train ticket for mechanical delays, if a bill introduced in the New Jersey Assembly is signed into law. The bill is one of a package of 5 introduced by BettyLou DeCroce (R—Morris) aimed at improving commuters' trip.

One bill, A4807, would require NJT to give a free train ticket to passengers delayed for more than an hour due to mechanical issues. Another, A4809, would require NJT to develop a plan to move passengers stuck on a stalled train.

“Hundreds of thousands of New Jersey workers depend on NJ Transit to get to work and back home every day,” said DeCroce. “Their commutes have been anything but reliable lately, with almost daily reports of equipment problems and delays. This is a horrible waste of time and money and it takes a terrible personal toll on commuters.”

The other three bills are resolutions urging NJT to improve communication to passengers when there are cancellations or delays, provide workers wth alternative telecommuting work areas during upcoming Penn Station repairs, and to call on Congress to review Penn Station's operations and command structure (you can read a full description of the five bills below).

The bills come after a rough few months for commuters between New Jersey and New York. Two trails derailed within two weeks of each other in late March and early April.

Then, a broken-down train stranded passengers inside a Hudson River tube for two hours on April 14, the same day a shooting scare caused chaos in New York Penn Station.

A full description of the five bills introduced:

• AR243 urges N.J. Transit to improve its service reporting cancellations, delays and scheduling changes through alerts sent to commuters, and better advertise its service.
• A4809 requires N.J. Transit to develop and adopt contingency plans to move a train or remove passengers if a train becomes stuck inside a tunnel.
• AR240 urges Transit to provide commuters with alternative telecommuting work areas for commuters during repairs to Penn Station and construction of trans-Hudson rail tunnels.
• AR241 calls upon Congress to review Penn Station’s operations and their command structure.
• A4807 free train tickets to passengers delayed more than one hour because of a mechanical failure.

Image via New Jersey Transit

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