Author: Sally Jane Gellert
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The last item on the agenda this evening is a contract for the Transitway at Secaucucs. What is unusual about this contract-approval request is that there is no dollar amount with it, merely “amount discussed in executive session”. Since we have been attending board meetings, this is the first time that there has not been…
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At its October meeting, the NJ Transit board announced that after years of not following the legislature’s direction to hire a new customer advocate, they finally have hired Franck Beaumin to fill the position. Congratulations—we think. When the law was first passed, and during the short term of the original public-relations expert, a “round table”…
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My trip to the NJT board meeting last month was a bit different from usual; normally, I take a Pascack Valley train from either Woodcliff Lake or Essex Street, but this time I got to Essex Street a bit late, missing the Train 1632 at 4:48. Fortunately, there was a 76 bus leaving at 5:12—but…
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As I write this, the election is still a week away, but by the time you are reading, we will know in what direction our country will be headed. Surely transit will be one of the many items to be greatly affected by that result. We’ll address possible implications and expectations of the incoming administration…
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As this issue goes to press, we were notified of the governor’s signature on S2607/A3872, which requires private bus operators of “motorbus regular route service”, not including “charter bus operation,” “special bus operation,” or “casino bus operation” or “a motorbus route predominately operated for tourism or recreational purposes” to give NJ Transit and the N.J.…
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This summer has been a challenging one at NJ Transit, with many rail delays, which the agency largely blamed on Amtrak. In fact, the agency has now started reporting 2 sets of delay statistics: those with an Amtrak component, and those without. As trains become stuck in tunnels, we think about the often-raised concern regarding…
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At the Coalition’s last meeting, we passed a resolution expressing our long-term frustration with the opacity of NJ Transit on just about any subject. The specific concerns this time (among many) are the 50% cut to peak-period River Line service and the ongoing issue of translucent or opaque windows on many rail cars, especially multilevel…
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Back in the 20th century—sounds so long ago!—well before I joined the Coalition, members used to visit NJ Transit rail stations regularly, clipboard in hand, and evaluate conditions. These were then summarized and notable situations reported to the agency. As membership changed, and so much went digital, the practice was abandoned. Within the last year…
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As this issue of the Railgram goes to press, a budget deal is in place to keep the government running. It includes the controversial—at least among businesses, though most will not be affected—corporate transit fee (an extension of the corporate business tax that ended in December 2023), though NJ Transit, the intended beneficiary, will not…
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Transit agencies throughout the country are facing fiscal crises after ridership droppedsome 90% during the early days of the pandemic, rebounding only slowly. Federal funding kept trains and buses running, and as that funding ends, agencies are looking at a dismal financial future. This is where NJ Transit finds itself, with a looming fiscalshortfall of…
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