Why are we doing this?

I started this site for several reasons.

1) More riders with smartphones means more demand for fresh information on train performance. Put another way, it's an opportunity to help lots of people at their moment of need. Why hurry through midtown for a train that's already late?

2) More riders with smartphones means more opportunity for crowdsourcing, where a lot of data means a more accurate picture.

3) The NJT site doesn't deliver current, targeted info quickly and easily enough. Their NEC alerts are mixed in with bus route changes and Shore Line delays. Delays are reported about 30 minutes after they occur, although this varies. Their push-email service is half-good, since you can only select a few trains to "watch." And their site is not mobile-friendly (NJTwatch has a specially optimized page for mobile users).

Let me say that New Jersey Transit runs a pretty good train service, and I want them to eventually put this site out of business. NJTwatch is just filling a information delivery gap.

I did this same sort of thing with the Fishers Island Ferry service in the late 90's. I put the schedule online for the first time, and maintained it for several years until ferry management caught up with the online age. Then I took it down. But the online schedule helped people thousands of times.