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NJ TRANSIT ADDS 2nd SITE FOR EMPLOYEE COVID-19 TESTING

South Jersey Location Increases Employee Access to Critical Testing

May 11, 2020

NEWARK, NJ — NJ TRANSIT has increased employee access to COVID-19 testing by adding a second site, this one in South Jersey.  The site, located at Rowan University in Gloucester County is now available to all NJ TRANSIT employees on Tuesdays and Fridays between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.   Last week, NJ TRANSIT began its COVID-19 testing program for all employees at a site in East Rutherford.  Both sites operate through an agreement with Agile Urgent Care and Accurate Diagnostics Lab.  NJ TRANSIT employees will be accepted for appointment-only testing.  NJ TRANSIT is also working to expand access to a similar testing site in central Jersey.

“Our goal is to have every one of our nearly 12,000 employees tested for COVID-19. This new site, in addition to the site in East Rutherford, will facilitate achieving that goal by providing added convenience for NJ TRANSIT employees living and working in South Jersey,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin Corbett. “More testing will lead to quicker identification of cases, quicker treatment for those testing positive, and immediate isolation. This is all part of our ongoing efforts to meet our primary objective during this pandemic - to protect our employees and our customers from the continued spread of this virus.”

This expansion of testing advances Principle 2 of Governor Murphy’s “The Road Back: Restoring Economic Health Through Public Health.”  With continued support from the Governor, NJ TRANSIT is extremely pleased to announce this significant health and safety advancement for NJ TRANSIT employees. The ability to facilitate access to testing for employees will lead to quicker identification of cases, quicker treatment for those testing positive, and immediate isolation to prevent spread.

As a reminder, all staff and customers on NJ TRANSIT vehicles are required to wear face coverings per Governor Murphy’s Executive Order No. 125.

Due to the rapidly changing nature of the COVID-19 response, customers are strongly encouraged to sign up for My Transit alerts and to check njtransit.com for the latest updates. 

As an added precautionary measure to protect bus operators and customers, NJ TRANSIT has implemented rear-door boarding on all bus routes where rear-boarding is available. Seats near the bus operator have been taken out of service to allow for proper social distancing for the operator.  Customers are encouraged to use the NJ TRANSIT mobile ticketing app or purchase paper tickets prior to boarding to limit cash transactions with the bus operator. Travel should be limited to essential personnel only.

NJ TRANSIT’s RESPONSE TO COVID-19

NJ TRANSIT continues enhanced cleaning efforts to include disinfecting vehicles every 24 hours. Hard surface cleaning and disinfecting typically includes handholds, arm rests, seating areas and restrooms.

Our enhanced cleaning regimen in stations includes additional disinfecting of frequent customer touchpoints such as ticket vending machines, handrails, door handles. In major stations and terminals, this occurs once every shift.

The cleaning agents used in this effort are deemed effective for these purposes and contain anti-viral components such as bleach/water mixes and other disinfectant sprays. Areas regularly cleaned include doors, door knobs, windows, benches, partitions, trash cans, elevators, escalators, handrails, ledges, all restrooms and floor surfaces and all floor mats. 

NJ TRANSIT has a dedicated web page offering a centralized location to highlight the many initiatives the agency has undertaken to protect customers and employees against COVID-19. The web page, njtransit.com/COVID19, is available on both desktop and through the mobile app.

In addition to outlining the steps the agency has taken, the website also includes a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. Posters reminding customers of best-practices to prevent the spread of germs have been installed on NJ TRANSIT vehicles throughout the system. 

NJ TRANSIT is closely engaged with the New Jersey Department of Health and other state and federal resources to carefully monitor, and if need be, respond to emergent health concerns that have the ability to impact customers and employees.

The Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) offer the following preventative steps for the coronavirus:

  • Stay home if you are sick
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
  • Avoid close contact with those who are sick
  • Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, throw the tissue in the trash, then wash hands 

For more information, please visit the following websites: New Jersey Department of Health: https://www.nj.gov/health/; the CDC: https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00427.asp.

Travel Advice:

  • Sign up for the My Transit alert system on njtransit.com, which delivers travel advisories for your specific trip to your cell phone via email or text.
  • Allow extra time getting to and from your destination. 
  • Listen closely to public address announcements at stations for late-breaking service information.

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.