nj-transit-customer-satisfaction.JPGIn a recent survey, customers gave low ratings to NJ Transit’s rail service, while bus service satisfaction improved slightly.

In the transit world, you are only as good as your last rush hour.

In the eyes of its rail customers, NJ Transit is not looking so good right now.

On a scale of 0 to 10, rail customers gave NJ Transit an overall grade of 4.2 in the agency’s latest “Scorecard” customer satisfaction survey, down from 4.5 in April during the initial survey.

The score from bus customers went up slightly, from 5.5 in April to 5.6 in the latest survey.

For all modes of transportation, the systemwide NJ Transit score was 5.3, up from 5.2 percent in April.

The latest survey was taken by about 15,000 customers between Aug. 2 and Aug. 22. Smack in the middle of that time period was a train derailment outside New York Penn Station on Aug. 9 that led to two mornings of hellish commutes.

NJ Transit Executive Director Jim Weinstein, a rail commuter from Hamilton to Newark, said the Scorecard is the cornerstone to make the agency better and more responsive to customers.

Under the category of “handling of service disruptions,” rail customers gave the agency a 3.2, the lowest grade for any category in any mode of transportation.

Weinstein said that during a service disruption, it is important that customers and rail employees get accurate, timely and consistent information.

“The crews need to have that information right away, because the customers need to have it right away,” he said. “They can’t be sitting there for 10 or 15 minutes and wondering what the hell is going on. That’s not acceptable.”

nj-transit.jpgNJ Transit’s River Line light rail heads toward Trenton in this file photo.Article source: http://feeds.stateline.org/~r/StatelineorgRss-Transportation/~3/yzyKZVO5tXk/nj_transit_gets_low_grades_in.html