State announces findings of NJ Transit audit

<p>Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday the findings of an audit into New Jersey Transit, and provided some plans to help fix the problems.</p>

News 12 Staff

•

Oct 9, 2018, 8:10 PM

•

Updated 2,015 days ago

Share:

Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday the findings of an audit into New Jersey Transit, and provided some plans to help fix the problems.

“This audit is what will allow us to begin rebuilding NJ Transit and restore faith in its operations,” the governor said during a news conference at the Metuchen train station.

NJ Transit has been rocked by a variety of issues as of late, including delays, cancellations, employee shortages and leadership problems. Murphy once referred to the agency as a “national disgrace.”

Murphy laid out five key improvements that he says will help NJ Transit move forward.

RELATED: ‘Minor’ NJ Transit train derailment snarls Thursday evening commute
RELATED: NJ Transit spent more than $12M on discrimination settlements
RELATED: Officials blame unexcused absences as cancellations continue on NJ Transit?

The improvements include:

Creating a streamlined leadership structure.
Improving customer experience by creating a unified communications department.
Streamlining the repair process.
Improving recruitment by implementing signing bonuses and changing the training process.
Finding funding that won’t involve fare hikes.

"I believe as we implement the recommendations of this audit, the fare paying public and NJ Transit’s dedicated employees will begin to see real and noticeable improvements,” Murphy said.

NJ Transit executive director Kevin Corbett said that he hopes to improve the customers’ experience. He said that this begins with making sure that customers’ concerns are heard. He said that there will be a team ready to tackle those issues.

"Having everyone in the same room also helps us quickly relay what our customers are saying on social media to our operating lines; also getting more information back out to our customers,” Corbett said.

Officials also addressed the positive train control safety system installation. They said that the project is more than 70 percent complete and that they plan to have it all done by the end-of-the-year federal deadline.