BY NJ TRANSIT

NJ TRANSIT has set a sharp sight on what is ahead; to make public transportation safer, more reliable and more customer-focused than ever.  The agency is focused on improving public transportation in New Jersey. Building a better future means planning and development must start now. While the state and its residents grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, NJ TRANSIT has been aggressively advancing the groundwork for projects that will improve travel and best serve customers.

In order to efficiently achieve its goal of pushing capital projects forward, NJ TRANSIT released its first-ever 10-year Strategic Plan (NJT2030) and 5-year Capital Plan to provide a roadmap for improvements. These plans are critical to shaping a strong future for the agency and building and developing transportation projects that will improve public transportation around the state and maximize rider experience.

As the first strategic plan of its kind for NJ TRANSIT, NJT2030 begins with a vision to transform the agency into an innovative, world-class public transportation provider meeting the travel needs of every customer. Highlights of the strategic plan include improving on-time performance, improving accessibility to the system, increasing service on congested bus routes and rehabilitation of some stations.

NJ TRANSIT also recently launched a new informational campaign for riders called While You’ve Been Away. The campaign aims to inform the public of the comprehensive system-wide improvements and safety and security measures instituted by the agency not only during the pandemic but over the past three years.

The While You’ve Been Away campaign discusses how NJ TRANSIT has improved reliability and service, enhanced customer experience, responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, set a new vision for the future, become nationally recognized for its security, and advance critically important capital projects.

NJ TRANSIT is also continuing to advance the “Innovation Challenge” project for the Meadowlands Complex. The agency is asking qualified contractors to help solve a very real issue; how to move a stadium’s worth of people seamlessly and continuously the seven miles between Secaucus Junction and the Meadowlands Sports and Entertainment Complex, anchored by MetLife Stadium, the Racetrack and American Dream.

In continuing to advance this critical initiative, NJ TRANSIT is looking to the future of the post-pandemic demands of the mass transit system and making the investments, planning and design required of projects with long lead times. These investments will drive future economic activity and maintain the ability to attract the world’s largest events.  MetLife Stadium remains in contention as a host venue for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

In order to alleviate congestion and align service with demand through one of its most densely traveled regions in the State, NJ TRANSIT launched a new initiative to redesign the bus network for the greater Newark area, called “NewBus Newark.” The “NewBus Newark” initiative, will include detailed performance analysis of the area’s 38 local bus routes. The agency is working alongside the community to design a new intrastate bus network for the Newark region. “NewBus Newark” will provide enhanced travel flexibility in the greater Newark area and will also support Newark’s economic growth.

In the spirit of innovation and in our continued drive to make mass transit as eco-friendly as possible, this year, NJ TRANSIT will begin a limited deployment of eight electric buses in Camden. This program will give the agency the opportunity to evaluate zero-emissions technology in a real-world setting. The electric buses are part of an overall effort by Governor Murphy’s administration to combat the impacts of climate change by transitioning to zero-emissions vehicles, which includes our commitment to a 100% zero-emissions bus fleet by 2040.

In short, NJ TRANSIT has been working hard While You’ve Been Away and, while significant progress has been made, the agency is not done yet and remains committed to maximizing efficiency, transparency, and reliability throughout New Jersey’s public transportation network. More details can be found through one of the links above or at njtransit.com/progress.

This is sponsored content from NJ TRANSIT