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NJ TRANSIT NJ TRANSIT

WARRINGTON ISSUES ADMINISTRATION'S SIX-MONTH PROGRESS REPORT

Easing Crowding, Improving Customer Service, Implementing Internal Efficiencies

NEWARK, NJ, NOVEMBER 13, 2002 – The NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors today extended existing contracts with Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas (PBQ&D) for an additional $9 million and BEM for an additional $850,000 related to the potential future extension of Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to 8th Street in Bayonne and to Tenafly in Bergen County.

Today’s Board action was highlighted last week by Governor James E. McGreevey during a Bergen County transportation improvement announcement in Paramus. The Governor was joined at the event by Board Chairman James P. Fox, U.S. Senator Jon Corzine and Bergen County officials for the announcement, which also included a series of improvements along Route 4 between Paramus and River Edge.

“With plans underway for redeveloping the Meadowlands, the time to begin addressing Bergen County’s infrastructure and mass transit have never been more pressing,” said NJ DOT Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman Jamie Fox. “New roads are not the answer, expanding rail service in the region is, but not without careful consideration of all options and ensuring that the project is eligible for and receives federal funding.”

“Extending light rail service into Bergen County will greatly improve transportation options in the region, helping to serve new markets and improve overall service,” said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director George D. Warrington. “This Board action will also position light rail extensions for future federal funding.”

Under the Board authorization, PBQ&D of Newark, the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail general design consultant, will provide conceptual engineering services under its contract extension while BEM of Chatham will provide hazardous materials consult

NEWARK, NJ, NOVEMBER 13, 2002 The NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors authorized today $13 million for a Fiscal Year 2003 (FY03) Park/Ride Expansion program, which will lead to the construction of 840 new parking spaces and initiate design for more than 3,300 spaces at 16 locations. FY03 runs through June 30, 2003.

The program supports Governor James E. McGreevey’s “Smart Growth” initiative and NJ TRANSIT’s “Back to Basics” strategy by providing improved access to rail stations that support the Corporation’s core system. Over the next two years, NJ TRANSIT plans to add nearly 7,000 parking spaces a near 8 percent increase of system capacity and a 25 percent increase in the number of NJ TRANSIT owned spaces.

“It’s unacceptable that New Jersey residents spend years on waiting lists for parking spaces at our rail stations and bus park/ride facilities,” said NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman and State Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox. “It’s not enough that our trains and buses are clean and run on time, or that we provide each customer with a seat. They need access to mass transportation if we’re going to take cars off of highways and relieve congestion.”

“The Corporation is determined to provide greater access to its transportation services,” said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director George D. Warrington. “We remain committed toward meeting the basic infrastructure and capacity needs of our core system and improving the quality of the commute for bus and rail riders.”

Today, there are about 87,000 parking spaces available to NJ TRANSIT commuters on a daily basis. The Corporation owns 45 percent (24,500) of parking capacity on the rail system, 3 percent of capacity on the bus system and all (2,760) of the

NEWARK, NJ, November 13, 2002 During the Corporation’s monthly Board meeting today, NJ TRANSIT Executive Director George Warrington and Board Chairman Jamie Fox outlined the steps taken by the McGreevey administration to reduce crowding, improve customer service, advance parking and initiate internal efficiencies.

A reliable, accessible and customer friendly mass transit system is critical to New Jersey’s economy, environment, and quality of life,” said Governor James E. McGreevey. The improvements we have made at NJ TRANSIT are one of the cornerstones of this administration’s Smart Growth agenda.

“This administration’s back to basics approach is very simple it means we’re putting the customer first by giving them a parking space near a bus or rail terminal, clean equipment that arrives on time, and a seat in exchange for their fare,” said Fox. “Much has been accomplished with George Warrington at the helm for these past six months, but this is just a down payment on this administration’s vision for mass transit.”

“When I arrived six months ago, I made Governor McGreevey’s ‘back to basics’ message very clear; NJ TRANSIT needed to reexamine the way it does business, with an eye on the customer, a focus on the crowds on our trains, the need to deliver more commuter parking, and an assessment of how efficient we run our business,” Warrington said.

One of his first tasks after arriving in May was establishing five task forces to focus on critical areas surrounding the Corporation including system capacity, capital priorities, internal efficiencies, customer service and internal and external communications.

Since May, NJ TRANSIT has added 34 new trains including service on ing services under its contract extension.

NJ TRANSIT is now planning the next phase of Hudson- Bergen Light Rail that will expand light rail service north into Bergen County and farther south into Bayonne. The original Hudson-Bergen Light Rail project envisioned a two mile extension of the system north of North Bergen. Recognizing eastern Bergen County’ s increasing traffic congestion and lack of public transportation alternatives, NJ TRANSIT is prepared to advance this latest work under the Federal Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) process. Furthermore, a direct extension of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system to Tenafly via the Northern Branch has garnered strong local support.

During an initial Major Investment Study that included this corridor, NJ TRANSIT identified the potential for up to 10 station stops beyond Tonnelle Avenue serving North Bergen, Ridgefield, Palisades Park, Leonia, Englewood and Tenafly and more than 4,200 parking spaces and potentially generating nearly 21,000 daily trips by 2020. The DEIS for this corridor is scheduled for completion in fall 2003.

In September, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail’s first leg was completed when the system reached Hoboken Terminal, connecting the system with commuter rail, bus, PATH and ferry services. The second leg, now under construction, will be completed in the following phases:

  • 34th Street to 21st Street in Bayonne (opening in 2003)
  • Hoboken Terminal to Weehawken (opening 2004)
  • Weehawken to Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen (opening in 2005)

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 752,600 daily trips on 238 bus routes, two ligh capacity on the light rail system.

Over the next two years, NJ TRANSIT plans to add nearly 7,000 parking spaces a near 8 percent increase of system capacity and a 25 percent increase in the number of NJ TRANSIT owned spaces.

Construction and land acquisitions for the FY03 program would occur in the following locations:

  • Montvale Train Station Pascack Valley Line (140 new spaces).
  • Essex Street Train Station, Hackensack Pascack Valley Line (36 new spaces).
  • Towaco Train Station Montclair Boonton Line (100 new spaces).
  • Boonton Train Station Montclair Boonton Line (30 new spaces).
  • Somerville Train Station Raritan Valley Line (60 new spaces).
  • Allendale Train Station Main Line (32 new spaces).
  • Toms River Bus Park/Ride Garden State Parkway Exit 82 (150 new spaces).
  • Washington Township Bus Park/Ride Hurffville Cross Keys Rd. and Fries Mill Rd. (300 new spaces).

Design work would occur in the following locations:

  • Waldwick Train Station Main Line (250 new spaces).
  • Clifton Train Station Main Line (190 new spaces).
  • Garfield Train Station Bergen County Line (230 new spaces).
  • North Hackensack Train Station Pascack Valley Line (400 new spaces).
  • A new Route 23 Bus Park/Ride, Wayne (2,000 new spaces).
  • Allwood Road Bus Park/Ride, Clifton (260 new spaces).
  • Willingboro Bus Park/Ride, (Location and number of spaces TBD).
  • A new Cumbthe new MidTOWN DIRECT Montclair service producing 11,500 additional seats to ease crowding.

    Other accomplishments during his six-month tenure include: implementing new cleaning standards for trains, buses and stations to improve the quality of commute for customers; expanding the hours of the round trip excursion tickets following concerns from customers; and simplifying the rules and expanding the hours of travel for senior citizens and people with disabilities after listening to complaints.

    Recently NJ TRANSIT developed a plan to phase in the opening the Secaucus Transfer Station beginning in September 2003, instead of waiting for a full opening of the facility at the end of 2003 when a much needed new PATH Station in lower Manhattan is scheduled to open. The full opening of Secaucus is contingent on the restoration of the new PATH Station to relieve some of the passenger loads on trains operating on the Northeast Corridor to and from Penn Station New York. Currently, people are remaining on NJ TRANSIT trains to get to New York instead of switching to PATH to get into Manhattan, creating crowd conditions.

    “As we looked at ways to improve the way we do business externally, we also had to take a hard top to bottom look at how we conduct business internally,” Warrington said. “As a result of that assessment, we are expected to realize an annual $29 million savings over the next year by optimizing our internal processes and reducing staffing levels,” he said.

    To achieve this, the Corporation will invest in better technology, improve its procurement and purchasing process and eliminate redundant activities. In addition, NJ TRANSIT will reduce approximately 8.6 percent of its 1,972 non agreement staff through a number of measures including early retirement, retraining and an actual ret rail lines and 11 commuter rail lines. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 160 rail stations, 28 light rail stations and more than 17,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.

    erland Bus Park/ Ride, (Location and number of spaces TBD).

NJ TRANSIT plans to add between 10,000 and 20,000 parking spaces at various bus and rail parkrides in the next five years. The total includes 3,121 spaces to support next year’s scheduled opening of the Southern New Jersey Light Rail System, 235 spaces at the future Hudson Bergen Light Rail 21st Street station in Bayonne (2003) and 750 spaces at the future Hudson Bergen Light Rail Tonnelle Avenue station in North Bergen (2005).

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 752,600 daily trips on 238 bus routes, two light rail lines and 11 commuter rail lines. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 160 rail stations, 28 light rail stations and more than 17,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.

### duction of force.

The following changes have been implemented over the last several months:

CAPACITY

  • Acting on Governor James McGreevey’s commitment in June to reduce the number of standees on trains traveling into and out of New York, NJ TRANSIT has added 25 more weekday trains to its schedule. This was achieved through the addition of five new trains in June, four new trains in September, one new train in October, a net of 14 trains as part of the Montclair Connection start up in September, and one new train in November.
  • Since June,11,500 more seats have been added on the system through the implementation of the additional service and adding more cars on trains.
  • Ten new weekend trains added and one train added for late night Madison Square Garden events.
  • Additional weekday and weekend service will be implemented within 18 months to support the opening of the Secaucus Transfer.
  • Increasing total peak hour service on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line and MidTOWN DIRECT service into Penn Station New York by approximately 25 percent.
  • Increasing peak period service by approximately 30 percent on the Main, Bergen County and Pascack Valley lines.
  • Doubling holiday and weekend service on the Main and Bergen County Lines.

PARKING

  • Construction contract awarded for a 1,500 space parking deck and station at Montclair State University.
  • Construction contract awarded for a 1,300 space regional Park/Ride on Route 17 in Ramsey.
  • An additional 330 spaces were added to the existing lot of 1,540 spaces at the Hamilton Train Station.
  • Opened a new regional bus parking lot on Route 23 in Wayne to augment existing parking at Willowbrook Mall.
  • Finalizing a five-year program to add more than 10,000 new parking spaces throughout the system, with a plan to construct the first 4,000 spaces following Board approval today.

CUSTOMER SERVICE/SERVICE ENHANCEMENTS

  • Scrubbing railcars every 45 days versus every 90 days.
  • Scrubbing buses every 25 days versus every 30 days.
  • Developing detailed maintenance standards for rail stations.
  • Establishing real time feedback among 15,000 rail riders via an e panel customer satisfaction survey.
  • Offering supercruiser bus service utilizing new 45 foot cruiser buses on 14 bus routes.
  • Added 16 trips to bus routes in North Jersey.
  • Extended five bus routes in South Jersey in Gloucester County including new service for workers bound for the Pureland Industrial Park in Logan Township, and students and staff traveling to Rowan University.
  • Working with the casino industry in Atlantic City and other counties in South Jersey to evaluate new transportation services for casino workers, which could lead to:
  • Express bus service between Cumberland County and Atlantic City.
  • Feeder bus service to enhance NJ TRANSIT service to Atlantic City.
  • Expanded park/ride opportunities along the south jersey bus and rail system.
  • Evaluating potential improvements along the Atlantic City Rail Line that could enhance service, particularly seasonal rail service that would benefit workers and tourists in the region.
  • Created new combined Hudson Bergen Light Rail and commuter rail ticket.
  • Installed faster printers for bus and light rail TVM’s (Ticket Vending Machines).
  • Targeting an overall TVM ticketing procedure to simplify and expedite the process.
  • Consolidated the management of NJ TRANSIT’s operation in Penn Station New York to focus on improving customer satisfaction, efficiency of train service in and out of the terminal, passenger flow and passenger services.

HUMAN RESOURCES

  • Developing a new employee recruitment process to ensure that the Corporation is hiring the right people for the right positions.
  • Giving employees the training and resources to carrying out the Corporation’s mission.
  • Aligning job responsibilities, employee performance measures and rewards, with an eye on the customers, to increase productivity and retain employees.

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