NJ Transit invests in real-time, GPS train tracking
"This was the single biggest thing that people have asked for," says NJ Transit president and CEO Kris Kolluri.
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The newly-redesigned NJ Transit app is the most noticeable change for customers more than 90 days after Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed an executive order tasking the transportation agency to improve the customer experience.
In its early days, social media comments suggest the new app is not so much an improvement, but in some ways, an unwanted change.
"I used to pick the exact stop that I wanted, and it would give me the distance, but now it's highly impossible," said transit rider Xavier, of Elizabeth.
Xavier was trying to catch a bus from Metropark in Woodbridge, but had a hard time navigating the new layout.
NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said the biggest upgrade to the digital experience will come in the form of live GPS tracking of trains. He said this will provide real-time arrival and departure times on the app and display board.
"This was the single biggest thing that people have asked for," Kolluri said. "And, the fact that the governor has now given us the ability to spend $12 million to make this improvement over the next several months is a real important benefit for the riders."
The system will be called NJT LiveView. The buses already use a similar technology.
Other focus points of the "Rapid Action Plan" include expanding WiFi on buses, power washing train stations and cars, and establishing a "real-time crime center."
