The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has crowned NJ Transit with one of the most prestigious awards among North American transit systems by naming them the winner of the Outstanding Transportation System award. The award acknowledges the hard work that NJ Transit has put in to ensure that their passengers have the best possible experience. The organization also showed significant improvement in the fields of service, customer experience, technology & innovation and advancing major capital projects.
“This is a remarkable achievement and a reflection of the improvements we’ve made to once again position NJ TRANSIT as an industry leader,” said NJ Governor Phil Murphy. “During the height of the pandemic, it was critical to maintain full service for essential employees. We called and the hard-working men and women of NJ TRANSIT delivered. And they continue to deliver each and every day, whether it’s major world-class entertainment events, the largest single construction contract in agency history at the new Portal Bridge or the long list of customer facing improvements that benefit New Jerseyans on a daily basis.”
The APTA Awards recognize organizations and transit leaders throughout North America who have displayed exemplary work in the operation of their business by providing clients with a great overall experience. The association is comprised of over 1,500 public and private member organizations throughout the industry.
“Receiving the Outstanding Public Transportation System award for 2023 truly validates NJ TRANSIT’s remarkable turnaround since 2018,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin S. Corbett. “This honor from APTA and our peers is akin to winning the Super Bowl for a transit agency. It is not just a recognition of our successes over the past five years, it’s a testament to all the hard work, dedication and contributions of every one of the nearly 12,000 NJ TRANSIT employees.”
Those nominated for the award must have shown significant improvement in the past three calendar years in the following categories: Safety, Operations, Maintenance, Access, Diversity, Inclusion and Equity, Customer Service, Financial Management, Sustainability, Workforce Development, Attendance and Employee Costs, Marketing, and Community Relations.
Over the past three years, NJ Transit has been recognized for their achievements in the field of safety and security by earning three other APTA awards. NJ Transit was named the recipient of the 2023 Bus Safety and Security Excellence Gold Award for its De-Escalation/Operator Assault training program, which is designed to help employees manage difficult situations and avoid employee assault.
NJ Transit was also awarded the 2021 APTA Bus Safety Gold Award for its use of the Lytx DriveCam Event Recorder designed to address safety hazards. That same year, NJ Transit also won APTA’s Rail Safety Certificate of Merit Award for Commuter/Intercity Rail Systems.