New Jersey Transit needs stronger operational management, better asset planning and clear performance metrics to improve service, Garden State Initiative says in a new report.
Reliability depends on how the agency is managed, not just how much is spent, said Danielle Zanzalari, an assistant professor of economics at Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business, who wrote the report for GSI. The Morristown-based public policy organization researches financial and economic issues facing New Jersey.
Zanzalari reached three other major findings in her report after analyzing NJ Transit’s fiscal and performance data:
- Amtrak-related disruptions are part of the problem, but not all of it;
- More funding has not produced more reliable service; and
- NJ Transit needs to shift from “reactive to performance-based investment.”
“NJ Transit’s reliability challenges cannot be explained by external disruptions or funding levels alone,” Zanzalari said.
NJ Transit’s media office said it had not seen the report and declined to comment.
More than 700,000 passenger trips occur on NJ Transit each weekday. Commuters often gripe about recurring delays, equipment failures and service disruptions.
NJ Transit’s operating budget reached a record $3.5 billion in fiscal 2027, 46% higher than in 2020. In the same period, mechanical reliability declined “significantly,” according to GSI.
