Resources

• NJT’s contingency plans
• A growing list of workarounds / alternatives to NJ Transit trains

News articles curated by Clever Commute

As of 28-Feb, NJ Transit has not yet published any formal contingency plans.

However, here are links to related resources (including what happened during the interruption caused by super storm Sandy)

• How an NJ Transit rail strike would affect your commute
• NJ Transit gets loan of 31 buses from SEPTA (2012 Sandy-related article)

How to activate it #1 (#2 is automatic):

Click on the menu in the app Select Profile Add a Secondary and Tertiary route (see purple stars in picture) Press Update Note 1: Don’t change your Origin and Destination. The app itself works at the Route level…so you see info from fellow passengers “up and down the line” Note 2: You will only receive push notifications for your Primary route.

In the event of an NJ Transit strike, we have crowdsourced these alternative ways to get to/from NYC. Please continue to share via the Contact feature of our web site or via our Facebook page.

Please visit the Clever Commute NJT Strike Command Center for more resources.

These are options above and beyond NJT’s contingency plan.

By train line

Northeast Corridor Line

• NJT Bus – 108, 112, 115 and 129 bus routes

North Jersey Coast Line

• NJT Bus – 116 and 133/135 bus routes

Gladstone-Morristown Line

• Lakeland Bus
• NJT Bus – 107X and 114X bus routes

Montclair-Boonton Line

• 6 Ways to get to NYC when the train is not running
• DeCamp Bus lines
• [Facebook] Montclair Ride Share
• [Facebook] Glen Ridge Community Ride Share Board
• NJT Bus – 191X and 324 bus routes

Main-Bergen County Line

Pascack Valley Line

Raritan Valley Line

• NJT Bus – 113 and 114X bus routes

Port Jervis Line

How about this testimonial…

My friend and I made the 5:43 tonight because of Clever Commute! We got to Penn at 5:49. The track assignment was off the board. BUT the track assignment was IN our text inbox. Making the train saved us our prepaid fee with our fitness trainers and gave us an evening of health.
Irrepressible and overcome with gratitude for your platform which has saved me once again–this time because of substantial subway delays–I exclaimed loudly as soon I boarded the train, “We wouldn’t have made this train if not for Clever Commute!”

Here is a fantastic example of how a commuter can use The Inside Track to determine which track their train will be on…before it is announced.

In this scenario, it’s 5:58 PM and the rider is shown the track number for the 6:10 PM…with 92% probability (see disclaimer below).

The transit providers claim to announce trains “10-15 minutes prior to departure.” However, this train (announced 7:47 in advance) represents what we see based on actual data.

This example demonstrates the value we provide. If you were an The Inside Track user on this day you would have known your track assignment…

• 12 minutes prior to departure time and
• 2 minutes earlier than NJ Transit announced it!

Disclaimer: This is a real example from the Montclair-Boonton line on September 2, 2014. Probabilities will vary based on a variety of factors…and will change as scheduled departure time nears. Always confirm that you are on the proper train.

This is another feature of Clever Commute Premium.

Yes, your transit provider may indeed publish travel alerts on their web site. They may even e-mail some of them. But when you give them your e-mail address, you also may get unsolicited mails from them (promotions, corporate comms, etc). We solve for that, and ALSO give you these features:

• categorization (with the option to filter-by-category)
• color-coding (for readability)
• delivery as text message
• the ability to set delivery preferences by time-of-day and day-of-week
• a way to easily pause/resume/snooze

And of course, if you don’t want to receive these messages, you can opt out.

Example (for NJT Riders). [Click to enlarge any image]

1. NJT publishes a Travel Alert

2. Our technology cleans, categorizes and color-codes it and sends it to you

As a text message…

or an e-mail

(inbox view)

(message view)

For trains departing NY’s Penn Station, the transit providers have a stated policy of releasing each train’s track number assignment “10-15 minutes prior” to the scheduled departure time. However, that is a guideline…not a guarantee. Some trains are announced just a few minutes in advance. Also, there are instances where the train number is known by the transit providers…but not shared with the commuters.

The Inside Track (Clever Commute’s premium service) changes all that. We use a proprietary algorithm to dynamically predict each track number before it is announced by the transit providers.

When you click-through on history icon (right-most column) for each train, you will see a page with 4 sections: (click to enlarge)

1. Date range selector – Our model is most accurate when it looks at the largest pool (e.g., 60-day) of   historical data.

2. Pie chart – historical track assignments for this train
(it will change as you adjust #1 above)

3. Prediction table – For a given track number, it shows
– Location: a list of tracks that this train has used in the selected time period. Our technology eliminates some tracks as options for this train on this day (e.g., Track 3).
– Occurs: the number of times that track has been used by this train
– Historical Percentage: that number expresses as a percent of the sample size
– Probability: the Clever Commute probability of that train being on a given track for this commute

4. Day-by-day track history – track assignment for this train over the selected period

Important things to note 

• We continue to revise our technology, and the predictions will get better over time. Do not expect 100% accuracy.
• The stats will change right up until the track is announced.  At that time, the announced track will be set to 100% Probability.
• Often times, information about eliminated tracks can be just as helpful as the Probability
• Adjacent tracks matter! One platform serves two tracks. So, feel free to take a peek down the stairs and get a 2-for-1 view!
• It is your responsibility to be sure you are on the right train. Always verify and listen for official announcements.

Here is a color-coded breakdown of how the news flowed during this morning’s incident.

Color key:

Red – Information form Clever Commute (not all entries shown)
Blue – Information from NJ Transit  (e-mail plus web site) 

The incident began at approx 7:59 AM…and was immediately reported by the commuters. The first e-mail from NJ Transit comes approximately 20 minutes later. 
7:59 AM – Power problems. Train stopped.
8:01 AM – Conductor announces Amtrak losing power
8:03 AM – All NE Corridor inbound trains stopped, heard in conductors radio, no explanation given to passengers yet.
8:04 AM – Amtrak voltage problems. All NJT trains are stopped.
8:06 AM – Going to Hoboken (trains to NYP are diverted)
8:16 AM – 8:01 Madison to NYPENN re routed to Hoboken. Conductor reporting all midtown direct trains are going to Hoboken
… (more Clever Commute messages)…

8:20 AM – MidTown Direct Service is diverted to Hoboken. We are cross honoring with NJT bus and PATH
8:25 AM – Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line service is suspended in both directions, due to Amtrak overhead wire problem
(End. No other communication from NJ Transit)

8:35 AM – Conductor on train stuck at Princeton Jct says trains are moving in front of us. Waiting out turn to move.
8:35 AM – NJT3926 7:45 fr:PJCT now on the move towards NB – supposedly NWK is next stop
8:38 AM – Anecdotal reports of trains at Eliz and Metro moving. Westbound train just came by Metuchen w/o stopping.
8:46 AM – Just board a local train from metuchen. Conductor announced delay into NY, but trains are moving
… (more Clever Commute messages)…

Here is a color-coded breakdown of how the news flowed during this morning’s incident.

Color key:
Red – Information form Clever Commute (not all entries shown)
Blue – Information from NJ Transit  (e-mail plus web site) 

The incident began at approx 7:59 AM…and was immediately reported by the commuters. The first e-mail from NJ Transit comes approximately 20 minutes later. 

7:59 AM – Power problems. Train stopped.
8:01 AM – Conductor announces Amtrak losing power
8:03 AM – All NE Corridor inbound trains stopped, heard in conductors radio, no explanation given to passengers yet.
8:04 AM – Amtrak voltage problems. All NJT trains are stopped.
8:06 AM – Going to Hoboken (trains to NYP are diverted)
8:16 AM – 8:01 Madison to NYPENN re routed to Hoboken. Conductor reporting all midtown direct trains are going to Hoboken …

8:20 AM – MidTown Direct Service is diverted to Hoboken. We are cross honoring with NJT bus and PATH
8:25 AM – Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line service is suspended in both directions, due to Amtrak overhead wire problem