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New Jersey Transit Ends Audio Recording on Light Rail

Ridgewood-Trainstation1_theridgewoodblog

June 30,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood bog

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.

In a carefully worded statement NJT said , “Following a careful internal review that involved weighing security benefits, operational necessities and evolving industry practices, NJ Transit has decided to remove the audio recording feature from light rail vehicles,” it said in an email. “Customer safety remains our top priority and it was determined that removing the audio recording feature would not in any way compromise that standard.”

Objections and skepticism were raised by many rail rider groups and civil liberties advocates over privacy issues ,including this blog.

While no evidence has so far been presented that NJT was listening to conversations on the Main Line or the Bergen Line’s that service Ridgewood ,local commuters felt it was a bit invasive .

“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.