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NJ TRANSIT Receives APTA's 2023 Gold Award for Bus Security and De-Escalation Training Program
Newark, NJ - NJ TRANSIT has once again been nationally recognized for its advancements in safety and security, earning the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Bus Safety and Security Excellence Gold Award at the 2023 APTA Mobility Conference held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on April 25th. This is the third time in two years that NJ TRANSIT has received such recognition.
The Gold Award acknowledges NJ TRANSIT's De-Escalation/Operator Assault training program, developed by NJ TRANSIT Bus Operations and enhanced with an additional module introduced by the New Jersey Transit Police Department (NJTPD). The training is presented to front-line bus employees to help manage difficult situations and minimize the potential for employee assaults.
New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti emphasized the importance of providing employees with training to defuse difficult situations, noting that NJ TRANSIT is honored to receive the award and remains committed to prioritizing safety and security for all employees and customers.
NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin S. Corbett praised the de-escalation training program, stating that it is a vital tool for equipping frontline staff with the skills and confidence to prevent potential assaults. The program is part of NJ TRANSIT's ongoing efforts to protect customers and employees and foster a culture of civility and respect on buses.
The training program provides operators with the latest tools and measures to help reduce assault risks by defusing confrontational and volatile situations involving difficult or dangerous customers. It also offers guidance on reporting dangerous customers to alert NJTPD and/or local law enforcement of assault situations.
The training reviews the State of New Jersey's protections for front-line public transit workers, which include a prison term of up to 5 years and fines of up to $15,000 for assaulting NJ TRANSIT bus operators and train crews. Similar training is also being provided to NJ TRANSIT’s Rail Operations employees.
APTA's Bus Safety & Security Excellence Awards Program recognizes transit organizations and contractors for their commitment to improving the safety and security of transit employees, customers, and communities through effective safety and security initiatives. The program aims not only to recognize exceptional safety and security performance for individual transit providers but also to benchmark successful programs for others to adopt and derive similar benefits.
In 2021, NJ TRANSIT received the APTA Bus Safety Gold Award for implementing the Lytx DriveCam Event Recorder, which led to a 70% reduction in near collisions from 2010 to 2020. NJ TRANSIT was also awarded APTA's 2021 Rail Safety Certificate of Merit for Commuter/Intercity Rail Systems for its work on Positive Train Control (PTC), a technology designed to enhance rail safety by monitoring and controlling train movements.
About NJ TRANSIT
NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 925,000-weekday trips on 253 bus routes, three light rail lines, 12 commuter rail lines, and through Access Link paratransit service. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 166 rail stations, 62 light rail stations, and more than 19,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia.
