Members of NJ Transit’s Board of Directors who serve on its customer service committee had an unusual request in the world of bureaucracy – give us more rider complaints.
That happened in August, after Operations and Customer Service Committee members criticized NJ Transit management for not telling board members about a woman who was stuck on an empty train for 90 minutes and a recent bus crash at the Port Authority bus terminal.
Members called for incidents such as the stranded passenger to be included in monthly reports to the board, in addition to other complaints and how they were resolved, instead of only reports outlining the agency’s monthly achievements.
The results played out at the Sept. 30 Operations and Customer Service Committee meeting. Board members started to receive some of that information and NJ Transit leadership was available to answer specific questions on Wednesday. And they asked questions to see if they arrived at the best solutions.
“In a customer service agency what’s more important than make sure organization satisfies the needs of its customers?” said Bob Gordon, board member and former state senator. “We should review them (complaints and solutions) to see if there is an opportunity to improve the quality of service.”
Gordon was one of the co-authors of the NJ Transit reform legislation that Gov. Phil Murphy signed in Dec. 2018 that added more members to the board, required more rider representatives and more transparency. Two board seats remain open.
State Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, chided agency leadership for not living up to the NJ Transit reform law at the full board meeting last month.
The committee is taking a more hands on approach, but stopped short of micromanaging the agency’s customer service process. Filling out an online complaint form still remains the first stop for customers, Gordon said. But board members want to know what happens to them after that.
The complaint process has been the butt of commuter jokes on social media, even when NJ Transit’s social media team responds by asking for further information about an issue on Twitter or Facebook. Some riders complain they received no answer to a problem or they were dissatisfied with the resolution.
“In my limited experience, there seems to be a feeling among the public that people don’t have access,” Shanti Narra, the newest board member and a bus commuter. “People reach out to me and say they feel they’re not being heard.”
Board members asked for more than previous customer service presentations boasted about how fast representatives answered calls. Since the August meeting, NJ Transit started proving board members with spreadsheets of representative complaints and how they were resolved, board members said.
“They (the committee) need to know what people are concerned about and focus on the quality of the experience,” Gordon said. “The public needs a way to communicate with the board and the board needs to learn what’s coming, is it working to minimize customer aggravation.”
Questions from board member Cedrick Fulton about what the agency is doing to address bus on-time performance brought out behind-the-scenes information for commuters.
During the traffic and ridership downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City removed traffic officers from a key intersection between the Lincoln Tunnel and Port Authority bus terminal, said Michael Kilcoyne, NJ Transit bus operations vice president. NJ Transit and city officials worked to have officers returned after evening traffic recently increased, he said.
On time performance increased from 93-94% to 98% from that terminal “because we were able to clear that intersection,” Kilcoyne said.
Narra said bus commuters who use the Holland Tunnel need similar relief.
“Anything we can do to share the good and bad (information) with the customer helps,” Fulton said. “I like this approach where the people who lead the operations are speaking, that is important.”
Board member James D. Adams read about garbage on the platform at Elizabeth station and asked officials what was being done about it. He also voiced concerns about board members having a more active role in the agency’s next budget.
Commuter advocates concurred that the public needs better transparency.
“I agree with Directors Gordon and Adams as well as Ms. Narra. It’s about time,” said Len Resto, New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers president and a rail rider. “There needs to be more transparency, more accountability, a disclosure of the reasons for (commuter) tweets- not how many they get, and what is being done about issues.”
But, Resto said the new board members are off to a good start. The new board needs to build credibility among commuters.
“Until the public believes they are being heard, many will continue to lack trust in the organization, so I would start there,” said Ryan Felmet, a commuter and independent advocate. “Any increase in official protocols regarding Board contact information and communication with the public would be better than what is currently available.”
He had praise for board members such as Gordon and Adams who have met informally with advocates and commuters.
“I got frustrated hearing complaints and met with advocates on a park bench at the Summit train station,” Gordon said. “I explained the constraints and it was good to communicate.”
Committee members might consider attending a NJ Transit “We’re Listening” meeting or the committee could organize them for specific groups, similar to forums held by Weinberg for Bergen County bus riders.
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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
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