New Jersey

NJ Transit is close to hiring a customer advocate to fill an oversight post that has been vacant for nearly four years, one of the agency’s board members said Wednesday.

NJ Transit faced the second worst “summer of hell” of Gov. Phil Murphy’s tenure this year, with its more than 1,800 train cancellations driven mostly by mechanical issues, Amtrak, and a rising number of unpreventable stoppages, according to agency performance data.

Assemblyman Christopher P. DePhillips, R-Bergen, is again calling for legislative hearings to hold NJ Transit accountable for what the lawmaker says are multiple failings.

New Jersey Transit is offering free rides on its trains and buses this week as the embattled agency struggles to regain public confidence amid chronic delays and service disruptions.

New Jersey Assemblyman Brian Bergen panned Gov. Phil Murphy’s NJ Transit fare holiday announced Thursday, saying the last thing commuters need is a free week of hell.