How Often Are Trains And Buses Late In Parsippany? A Look At NJ Transit's Data

PARSIPPANY, NJ — If you're taking the train or bus around Parsippany, do you need to leave home extra early in case it's late or canceled? New Jersey Transit's data can help you make that judgment.

Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order in November 2019 that prompted NJ Transit to release metrics going back to January 2017 on how often trains arrive late or get canceled on each line. Murphy intended to offer transparency and potential indications of progress with the state's public transit.

As a result, NJ Transit launched its "Performance by the Numbers" dashboard, which now has data on lateness and cancelations going back five years. So is the public transit that goes through Parsippany up to snuff? Here's what the data shows:

Taking the Train

Two NJ Transit rails run in the Parsippany area: the Morris & Essex Line, which stops at the Mount Tabor and Morris Plains stations, and the Montclair-Boonton line, which stops in its namesake Boonton.

In January, 93.4 percent of NJ Transit trains on the Montclair-Boonton line left each stop on time, meaning they departed within six minutes of the schedule. The mark falls a bit short of NJ Transit's goal of 94.7 percent of trains leaving on time.

In the past five years, Montclair-Boonton Line trains performed most successfully in April 2020, when 99.1 percent of trains left on time. The line's worst month in the past five years came in November 2018, when only 77.5 percent of trains had timely departures.

During that span, the Montclair-Boonton Line has only reached the 93.4 percent mark in a handful of months: February 2018, April-June 2020 and April and May of last year.

On the Morris & Essex Line, 91.1 percent of trains were on time last month, which also falls below NJ Transit's goal.

In the past five years, Morris & Essex Line trains performed most successfully in May 2020, when 98.7 percent of trains left on time. The line's worst month in the past five years came in November 2018, when only 78.4 percent of trains had timely departures.

During that time, the Morris & Essex Line has only reached the 94.7 percent mark in a handful of months: February 2018, April to June 2020, September to October 2020, January 2021 and last April.

The Bus

NJ Transit doesn't display as much line-specific data for buses as it does trains. But overall, buses from major terminals have exceeded the agency's goal of 90 percent goal of departing from stops within six minutes of schedule.

Last month, NJ Transit buses from major terminals were on time 95.5 percent of the time. Here were the rates of on-time departures in January from each major terminal:

• Atlantic City Bus Terminal: 95.6 percent
• Hoboken Terminal: 98.6 percent
• Irvington Bus Terminal: 98.6 percent
• Newark Penn Station: 97.6 percent
• Port Authority Bus Terminal: 94.7 percent
• Walter Rand Transportation Center: 90 percent

Here's a comparison of how those buses have performed since 2009:

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