The Garden State's official flower may be the blue violet, but the official smell of NJ Transit is now lavender.
NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri on Tuesday announced the scent as the preferred fragrance for cleaning solutions the agency plans to use in stations. It’s part of a new push by Gov. Mikie Sherrill to make quick upgrades to the beleaguered transit system.
“ I hope people smell lavender,” Kolluri said during a news conference. “I've been obsessed about lavender cleaning products for about a year now, and (Newark) Penn Station is a good example of a place where we use lavender every night to clean from midnight to 4 [a.m.] The governor has said that she wants to see this kind of a program expanded to other stations.”
Sherrill announced the lavender initiative as part of the first steps in her “Rapid Action Plan” to improve NJ Transit. In March, she gave Kolluri 45 days to come up with a roadmap for improving the experience for riders. The first steps of the plan announced Tuesday didn’t include any boosts to train or bus service.
Other changes announced included upgrades to GPS tracking on buses and trains so riders have more accurate real-time arrival information. Officials said they’re creating a crime center that uses artificial intelligence, which Kolluri said will “ begin tracking and predicting crime patterns in different locations, on platforms and stations.”
The plan also calls for installing more escalators and elevators. NJ Transit officials didn’t say which stations would get the upgrades, other than Newark Penn Station.
Officials also did not provide a cost estimate for Sherrill’s plan. They said the work in the plan will be covered by NJ Transit’s current budget.
“ In Congress, they called me the tunnel-obsessed congresswoman because I fought so hard for the Gateway Tunnel project,” said Sherrill. “Now I am working to be the transit-obsessed governor because I'm fighting for New Jersey's entire transit system for all of our state's commuters.”
Sherrill is picking up the reins of her predecessor, former Gov. Phil Murphy, who entered office eight years ago promising to fix NJ Transit “if it kills me.” Many riders regarded Murphy's efforts to fix the agency as a failure.
The plan announced Tuesday comes a month before this summer’s World Cup games kick off at MetLife Stadium, which is expected to push NJ Transit’s rail network to its capacity.
The lavender smell could make riders feel better about NJ Transit’s plan to charge them $105 to get to the games.
Correction: This story was updated to specify which areas of NJ Transit will be cleaned with lavender-scented products under the plan. After publication, NJ Transit officials clarified that only stations will get the flowery smell. They said train cars will also get additional cleaning, but not with lavender-scented supplies.
