New Jersey Transit unveils 1st-ever 10-year strategic plan
NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- Governor Phil Murphy and New Jersey Transit President and CEO Kevin Corbett on Monday unveiled the agency's first-ever 10-year strategic plan, which along with a five-year Capital Plan aims to provide a vision to build the future of transportation in New Jersey.
The plan, called NJT2030, looks to drive a 21st century economy in an accountable, transparent and environmentally-sustainable way.
"Before our current public health emergency, we made critical investments and undertook long-overdue reforms to NJ Transit's operations which have unquestionably improved reliability and performance," Murphy said. "To safeguard that progress, NJT2030 and the Five-Year Capital Plan put forward the vision for how NJ Transit will address a decade-long period of disinvestment, and further transform the agency's core business functions to regain the confidence of customers, stakeholders, and the communities it serves."
Corbett said NJT2030 begins with a vision to transform the agency into an innovative, world-class public transportation provider that meets the travel needs of every customer and establishes five over-arching goals:
--Ensure the reliability and continued safety of the transit system
--Deliver a high-quality experience for all customers, with their entire journey in mind
--Power a stronger and fairer economy for all communities in the region
--Promote a more sustainable future for the planet
--Build an accountable, innovative and inclusive organization that delivers for New Jersey
"Through these plans, we will build on the significant progress we've already made, support our state's economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic, and lay out a path forward for the next ten years," Corbett said. "The initiatives and metrics within these plans hold us accountable to our customers and stakeholders, while guiding our actions and decisions that will deliver a modernized, best-in-class transit system for the people of New Jersey."
Highlights of the plan include:
--Improving on-time-performance
--Increasing service on the most congested bus routes
--Rail and Bus fleet replacement, including the advancement of our net-zero emissions bus program
--Upgrading Information Technology systems
--Station rehabilitation
--Improving accessibility to the system
Corbett said the primary focus of the plan is putting customers at the center of the agency's decision-making. Based on feedback from customers, elected officials, transit advocates, and other external stakeholders, more than 100 specific strategic initiatives have been laid out for NJ Transit to achieve and implement between now and 2030
NJ Transit also addressed the impacts of COVID-19 in the strategic plan, with actions to give customers and transit operators confidence as the state begins its restart and recovery, including:
--Enhanced cleaning
--Social distancing
--The use of personal protective equipment among both customers and employees
--Enhanced communications
--Greater cooperation with regional transit partners to defend against spread of the virus and share best practices
In addition to NJT2030, the agency also issued five-year capital plan, which includes more than 100 projects touching every aspect of NJ Transit service, including Access Link, Bus, Light Rail and Rail designed to establish NJ Transit as a world-class transit system.
The plan establishes five performance indicators called "project values" that help translate NJT2030's goals into metrics applicable to capital projects. The five project values are:
--State of Good Repair
--Customer Experience
--Safety
--Resiliency
--Business Performance
Details on both plans can be found at NJTplans.com.
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