NJ Transit launches initiative to improve customer communication

New Jersey Transit is rolling out a new communications initiative, "Engage. Inform. Improve." to improve the experience of its customers. The agency said the initiative will focus on addressing customer needs, providing more timely information and improving all customer touchpoints including announcements, station and facility conditions and the onboard experience.

“These three ideals of Engage. Inform. Improve. will be the foundation upon which we continue to transform and improve NJ Transit,” said NJ Transit Executive Director Kevin Corbett.  “These will be the guiding principles to ensure that everything we do moving forward supports the customer at the forefront.”

The initiative's three phases are described as: 

• Engage: NJ Transit will actively engage customers for their input and listen to customer needs to identify areas in need of improvement. This includes proactive survey engagement and greater social media engagement.

• Inform: Customers will receive more proactive and effective communications from NJ Transit in real time during service disruptions, will provide easier access to critical information, and inform customers of efforts to improve operations.

• Improve: NJ Transit will continue to implement new ideas to improve the customer experience as part of a continuous feedback loop and develop and deploy new technology to strengthen operations and improve service.

“An improved customer experience is at the heart of rebuilding NJ Transit,” said New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner and NJ Transit Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti. “This initiative will focus directly on the customer. Whether it is communications or station conditions, our goal is to make holistic changes to how NJ Transit interacts with customers and how the organization responds to concerns and issues.”

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has pushed hard for the transit agency to step its game up beginning with an executive order signed in January 2018 to examine the agency's operations and recommend optimization steps. 

“From day one, I’ve been committed to restoring NJ Transit for the commuters of New Jersey,” said Gov. Murphy. “The improvements underway in this initiative will have a real and tangible impact on the lives of nearly one million daily riders who rely on trains and buses every day.”

 NJ Transit said it "has actively and aggressively been taking action to improve service and communications" since Gov. Murphy's executive order and points to its efforts to procure new rail cars, launch an upgraded mobile app, install touch screen interactive information kiosks as part of a pilot program and start the upgrade of smartphones for train crews in order to communicate better real-time information that can then be shared with on-board customers. The agency will also create a Customer Experience Unite that will be responsible for monitoring and assessing all facets of the customer experience from the time a customer enters a station until they leave their destination point, including PA announcements, conditions onboard and at facilities.