NJ TRANSIT Officials Hear From Customers At Forum In Hoboken

HOBOKEN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - NJ TRANSIT officials heard from bus and rail customers at a "We Are Listening" forum held Tuesday afternoon at Hoboken Terminal.

A woman named Karen told transit officials that her commute on the Morris-Essex Line is good, considering the damage left behind by Sandy. But she added that there are some areas where she'd like to see improvement.

"I feel that maybe the staff should be a little bit more customer focused because just like anyone else, they have bad days too, but because they are in the business that they are I think they have to leave their bad days outside," Karen told WCBS 880's Monica Miller.

"It was better before Sandy but I guess they're going to take their time and recuperate at some point," a rider named Adam from New York told Miller.

"Given the circumstances, they're doing as fine as I think they can do," another rider said.

Tuesday's forum was the second of three NJ TRANSIT officials are holding to hear directly from riders. Last week, transit officials met with riders at Port Authority Bus Terminal.

"You learn an awful lot from people who come up and are honest with you," NJ TRANSIT executive director Jim Weinstein told Miller. "Basically, it's an opportunity for the people who use this system, our system, every day to come up and tell us what their concerns are, tell us what their problems are. We'll also accept compliments if that's appropriate. And we've found them to be very productive, it keeps us grounded."

He said that while there has been some praise, the agency has had its share of criticism.

"Has to do with communication, has to do with restoration of heat in this terminal," Weinstein told Miller.

The next public forum will take place next week at Penn Station in New York. Customers can also offer their input through NJ TRANSIT's online survey. The survey is available by clicking here.

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• NJ Transit