June 30,2016
Ridgewood NJ, Looks like New Jersey Transit will no longer be listen to riders conversations on certain lines. New Jersey’s transit agency announced Wednesday it’s ending its use of audio surveillance systems on some of its trains.
Audio and video recording have been in use on New Jersey Transit’s River Line between Trenton and Camden, and had said it was planning to use the system on light rail trains in Newark and in Hudson County.
Objections and skepticism were raised by many rail rider groups and civil liberties advocates over privacy issues ,including this blog.
“Not only was NJ Transit collecting countless hours of train conversations, but the agency irresponsibly failed to put policies in place to prevent misuse of the recordings or to protect passengers’ privacy,” the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey said in a statement. “State agencies should think twice before dismissing New Jerseyans’ privacy rights so easily.”
After news leaked out of the audio surveillance in April, Interim Executive Director Dennis Martin defended its use and said the agency was using whatever tools at its disposal to “deter criminal activity” and keep passengers safe, citing global terror attacks.