New interim executive director for NJ Transit

[Mystic River Dragon]

According to New Jersey Transit's website, they have appointed Dennis J. Martin as Interim Executive Director, effective December 28, 2015.

From the bio they gave (sorry, I tried to copy and paste but can't, and have no clue how to link), he has been with NJT for years, but mostly on the bus end, with some years in customer service.

Any of you familiar with the inner workings of NJT have information/opinions on this appointment?

Also, will he just be a placeholder? Or is it worth writing a letter to him detailing everything NJT needs to do to stop being the pits of commuter rail?

A bad sign is that one of the busiest of the NJT commuter trains (leaving TRE at 6:49 and going to NYP) has been cancelled (although that may have been decided before he started).

Looking forward to your insights and opinions....

 

[AmtrakBlue]

http://www.njtransit.com/tm/tm_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=PressReleaseTo&PRESS_RELEASE_ID=3026

[SIZE=11pt]NEWARK, NJ[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] — The NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors appointed Dennis J. Martin as Interim Executive Director during a special meeting today. The appointment takes effect on Monday, December 28th.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Mr. Martin will serve as interim Executive Director upon the departure of Veronique “Ronnie” Hakim this week.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Mr. Martin is an experienced transit professional with more than 30 years of industry experience, specifically with NJ TRANSIT, and has served as Vice President and General Manager of NJ TRANSIT Bus Operations, General Manager, NJ TRANSIT Mercer, Inc. and General Manager, NJ TRANSIT Morris, Inc. since the fall of 2014. Mr. Martin served as Acting VP/GM of NJ TRANSIT Bus Operations from June of 2014 prior to his permanent appointment.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Mr. Martin has strong technical and business qualifications with an impressive track record of hands-on experience in transportation, customer service, call center management, operations planning, scheduling, supervision, terminal operations, revenue security, project management, and emergency response.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]From 1998 to 2003, Mr. Martin served as Director of Terminal Operations for
NJ TRANSIT Bus Operations, where he directed bus operations within the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the nation’s busiest transportation terminal, and was accountable for bus operations, on-time performance, lease agreements, ticket sales and revenue collection and security. During his tenure as Director of Terminal Operations, Mr. Martin led the evacuation coordination out of New York City during the August 2003 regional blackout and established temporary operations at the Meadowlands Sports Complex and directed on-street boarding of customers during the Port Authority Bus Terminal shutdown. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]As Senior Director of NJ TRANSIT Customer Resources from 2003 to 2011, Mr. Martin directed the development and implementation of corporate-wide customer service strategies including customer relationship management, provision of transit information, training, reward and recognition programs, data collection, issue identification, analysis and reporting. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Mr. Martin also was instrumental in crafting and implementing a detailed plan to overhaul the Port Authority Bus Terminal staging for NJ TRANSIT bus operations, to provide a safe and more efficient traveling experience for NJT customers. This required multiple agency coordination as well as managing relationships with the Port Authority, private bus carriers within the facility and creating a tactical plan for effective and comprehensive communications to NJ TRANSIT customers.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Mr. Martin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Rutgers University.[/SIZE]

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

Thanks for the link, AmtrakBlue--it's nice to have tech-savvy friends in high places!

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

Oops, am I embarrassed :blush: . The NJT train I thought had been cancelled forever and was getting furious about was just cancelled for the slow commuting days of the holiday season and is running again now.

Either Mr. Martin is really under the radar, or nobody was paying attention because I asked about him on New Year's Eve and people had other things to do. I don't know if it's bad form to ask once more, but anyone know anything about him that the news release doesn't have? Thanks....