(The following article by Joe Malinconico was posted on the Newark Star-Ledger website on May 4.)
NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit is spending $400,000 to get some input from its rail riders.
The agency last week began sending people on trains to hand out the surveys, which feature more than 50 questions covering everything from customer satisfaction to commuting patterns.
By May 19, NJ Transit expects to hand out more than 100,000 questionnaires on every rail line that runs through northern and central New Jersey.
The last time the agency conducted a survey of this scope was in 1990, officials said. The data from the survey will be used to adjust train schedules, make improvements in customer service and plan future rail projects, officials said.
“It gives you the intelligence you need to make wise business decisions,” said NJ Transit spokesman Dan Stessel.
Some questions focus on Secaucus Junction, the $600 million rail transfer station that has struggled to gain ridership after opening for daily operation in December 2003. Others are geared toward improving connections with other modes of transportation, like buses or ferries.
One section includes a detailed survey on customer service issues, including on-time performance, employee conduct, the quality of announcements during delays and comfort.
Riders who do not get a survey on the train can go to NJ Transit’s Web site at www.njtransit.com, print one out and mail it in, Stessel said.
As an inducement to get people to participate, the railroad is holding a drawing from people who submit completed questionnaires, with 10 winners getting the choice of a free monthly rail pass or two tickets to a Broadway show.