By: Marjorie Censer
NJ Transit announced Monday that it will overhaul and upgrade all 543 of its automated ticket vending machines to make them faster and more user-friendly.
The new machines will feature larger, ATM-style screens that will allow users to make their selections by touching icons on the screen. The displays will be angled toward the customer and be six times brighter than the current models to allow for easier viewing outside.
The new machines will eliminate the need for three-digit codes to identify stations instead, passengers can simply touch the station name on the screen, a system now used by Metro-North Railroad, Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak customers. Customers also will be able to purchase joint tickets from other carriers, including PATH, PATCO, SEPTA, Metro-North and NY Waterway.
Additionally, the machines will remember the five most recent trips purchased on a credit card, allowing passengers to quickly repeat past transactions if they use the same credit card.
The new machines will feature upgraded computers with faster processors and a more stable operating system. That system will be compatible with the smart card technology in the works from PATH and PATCO, as well any future smart card program that NJ Transit might develop.
Other machine features include faster bill acceptors, voice-activated audio that meets federal ADA requirements, multiple language capability and a new "fast fare" option for rail customers traveling between major stations.
NJ Transit also approved the purchase of 157 new machines to be added on the Main, Bergen County, Pascack Valley, Morris & Essex and Raritan Valley lines, as well as the Newark City Subway extension to Broad Street and the new Meadowlands Rail Station. Princeton Junction at West Windsor is on NJ Transit’s Northeast Corridor line and, along with the Dinky station, the Princeton Branch.

