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NJ Transit has been named the 2023 winner of the Outstanding Transportation System award — the highest honor awarded by the American Public Transportation Association.

The APTA Awards recognize organizations and transit leaders throughout the public transportation industry across North America that demonstrate both qualitative and quantitative achievements in leadership, innovation, customer experience and more.

As part of the process for selecting award winners, APTA, which comprises more than 1,500 public and private member organizations across the industry, examines whether nominees have shown specific improvements and achievements in the last three calendar years in 12 areas.

Those areas include safety; operations; maintenance; access; diversity, equity and inclusion; customer service; financial management; sustainability; workforce development; attendance and employee costs; marketing; and community relations.

“This is a remarkable achievement and a reflection of the improvements we’ve made to once again position NJ Transit as an industry leader,” said Gov. Phil Murphy in a statement. “During the height of the pandemic, it was critical to maintain full service for essential employees. We called and the hard-working men and women of NJ Transit delivered. And they continue to deliver each and every day, whether it’s major world-class entertainment events, the largest single construction contract in agency history at the new Portal Bridge or the long list of customer-facing improvements that benefit New Jerseyans on a daily basis.”

Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, Department of Transportation commissioner and NJ Transit board chair, said the transit agency shares this honor with its talented and dedicated employees and loyal customers.

“It is because of them that NJ Transit has been recognized with this distinguished award,” Gutierrez-Scaccetti said.

“Receiving the Outstanding Public Transportation System award for 2023 truly validates NJ Transit’s remarkable turnaround since 2018,” said NJ Transit President and CEO Kevin Corbett. “This honor from APTA and our peers is akin to winning the Super Bowl for a transit agency. It is not just the recognition of our successes over the past five years, it’s a testament to all the hard work, dedication, and contributions of every one of the nearly 12,000 NJ Transit employees.”

NJ Transit has been recognized with three other APTA awards, including APTA’s 2023 Bus Safety and Security Excellence Gold Award for its De-Escalation/Operator Assault training program.