Mind Power: NJ Transit website down for 3 hours during height of snowy commute

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

NJ Transit website down for 3 hours during height of snowy commute - NJ.com

During the height of the snowy afternoon commute today, customers who tried to log onto the NJ Transit website got a message saying the site was undergoing "emergency maintenance" and a phone number to call for information.

The site was down for about three hours starting at 2:30 p.m., NJ Transit spokesman John Durso Jr. said.

"It was a technical issue that was resolved by the hosting company," he said. "For the entire time, we were communicating with customers via Twitter and we were also directing customers to the phone line. We apologize for the inconvenience to our customers."

Commuter Jeff Alexander of South Orange didn't fault NJ Transit for the weather-related delays that added 40 minutes to his trip home from Manhattan, but said there was no communication.

"It's the typical NJ Transit playbook, where there are delays and they aren't making them known to people," he said. "It's a madhouse at New York Penn Station and nobody knows what's going on."

NJ Transit trains were delayed up to 45 minutes and buses an hour as snow blew sideways in the wind and fell at a rate of an inch per hour at the worst possible time for commuters.

NJ Transit on Wednesday will operate trains on an "enhanced weekend schedule," the same as for Martin Luther King Jr., Day and Presidents Day.

To see a schedule, view this link.

The only exception is the Atlantic City Rail Line, which will be on a regular weekday schedule.

Buses and light rail also will run on a regular weekday schedule, but riders should factor in time for delays or detours, especially during the morning commute, according to NJ Transit.

There will be no Access Link service for the elderly or disabled on Wednesday.

For a second straight day, NJ Transit on Wednesday will extend its “cross-honoring” of tickets for all modes of transportation to give commuters more riding options. Tickets can be used for trains, buses or light rail, regardless of which mode of transportation the ticket was for initially.

Also, NJ Transit announced that the waiting rooms at all of its rail station buildings will remain open evenings and overnight through Monday to keep customers out of the cold.