East Brunswick Commuter Parking Advisory Committee January 2009

The Commuter
We Trained Hard

”We trained hard . . . but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams we would be
reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a
wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and
demoralization.” C.Petronius Arbiter 210BC

The above quote, erroneously attributed to an ancient Roman satirist, C Petronius Arbiter, succinctly sums
up my commuting experiences with Suburban. I commuted via bus to Manhattan for over 20 years from East
Brunswick. With the creation of the Commuter Parking Advisory Committee, (CPAC) we had hopes of
improved communication with the bus company and improved service and commuting conditions. Alas, that
did not evolve. Rather, CPAC can be likened to Sisyphus, condemned by the gods to roll a rock to the top of
a mountain, only to have the rock fall back to the bottom due to its own weight so that he might start the
process from the start.

The CPAC is continually meeting with Suburban management to discuss ongoing problems of ventilation on
buses, poor or inadequate scheduling, failures of on-time performance, lack of communication, passengers
left behind and bus breakdown due to a myriad of reasons, none of which are much comfort to the stranded
commuter. Suburban’s responses at our meetings have included efforts to improve scheduling, improve bus
maintenance, provide better communication via increased numbers of dispatchers at various locations and
increased training for its fleet of drivers and dispatchers.

Has that been successful? From the number of complaint emails to ebcommuter @yahoo.com, it seems not.
But then, rarely do we see newspaper headlines about Eagle Scouts – news, especially published news,
tends to only emphasize the negative and not highlight or showcase the positive. From my perspective, both
as a commuter and as a member of CPAC, I have seen improvement, sometimes long term, such as the
implementation of the cross-town bus service, some short lived, such as the adequacy of seats on that same
service. Progress in communication with Suburban management has been sporadic and fitful – we have
seen a number of managers come and go – each beginning anew the communication process with the
committee and learning what our specific goals are. A sincerity of effort has been shown on their part, but
somehow it often breaks down somewhere between the meeting with us, their subsequent meeting(s) with
the employees of Suburban, and when the rubber meets the road.

Coupled to that problem is the scarcity of information commuters often provide regarding specific
experiences – we have countless times stated that the bus number, the route and the date and time of day
are needed to pinpoint the persons and/or equipment involved in a specific incident. Without that, it is
difficult, if not impossible, to localize and rectify the problem. Moreover, the man hours expended in tracking
down an “old” problem as opposed to keeping on top of current events discourages anyone from spending
much time exploring old issues. That is where each commuter can make a difference. Complaints should
be directed to Scott Sprengel, Suburban's general manager, with a COPY to ebcommuter@ yahoo.com.
The CPAC is not designed to be your conduit to Suburban's complaint department. We are here to ensure
that the problems you present to Suburban are given the attention they need.

One objection I find most amusing is the commuter who complains and complains, but never attends a
meeting nor lodges a written complain with Suburban – the excuse – “I work all day long in the city and have
a long commute home”. HELLLLOOO!! Who do you think comprises the CPAC? CPAC participants are
commuters in the same situation, but perhaps with a bit more determination to do good for the community as
a whole. If everyone expended 5% of the energy spent by the CPAC members, more could be
accomplished on a permanent basis. We would see changes that are long lived and not just flashes in the
pan.
With our new facility, we are facing a new list of complaints – lack of heating in the waiting area, inadequate
spaces in the kiss and ride area, poorly engineered traffic areas for the buses, and of course, the forever and
unending construction on Route 18.

These are problems that I experienced when we first moved from the trailer on the side of Sam’s parking lot,
(before it was Sam’s), to the old ticket office and waiting area just recently vacated. It took time to improve
the area, but the amenities became much better – sometimes it boils down to adjusting to changes. We long
for the old days – we were comfortable with a routine we knew and had adjusted to – we don’t want to go
through a period of readjustment and change yet again. But this is progress, this is also the cycle of life that
becomes history – and why history repeats itself – it’s made by humans who tend to repeat and repeat with
variations on the theme.

So rather than throw up our hands in disgust, let’s all try to work together to make workable what seems
impossible – it can be done. As a reminder, the meetings of the CPAC are open to all, “membership”
equates to attendance at meetings whenever possible. Above all, your physical presence does much to
underscore the importance of your specific concerns. Try to make a meeting or two. I came for one a
number of years ago, and have been coming back ever since.
Camille Ferraro
Odds and Ends

February CPAC meeting: The next meeting of the CPAC will be at 8 pm on Feb. 4, 2009 in the Municipal
Building Conference Room. All commuters are invited to attend and participate, along with the management
of the Parking Utility and Suburban Transit. The primary focus on this meeting will be the specifications for
the new bus vendor contract that is expected to be put out for bids in a few months.

NJ Transit 68: As part of these specifications, the CPAC has been informed that the Parking Utility
plans to continue to use the same exclusive vendor arrangement that is currently in effect without
any provision for NJ Transit to access the facility. This means that, for the time being, 68 commuters will
continue to wait in the current remote area. Even more problematic is the fact that if and when further
development takes place in the complex, 68 commuters are not assured any location to pick up the bus near
the TCC parking facility. It is our understanding that NJ Transit was invited into the TCC originally in an effort
to attract additional East Brunswick commuters and their parking fees and this has not changed. If you are a
68 commuter and you want this issue addressed, it is incumbent upon you to make your voice heard
by attending CPAC and Council meetings, calling or writing the Mayor, Council and NJ Transit or
through similar efforts. If the new contract contains these same terms, there is no assurance that
TCC commuters will have continued reasonable access to the 68. We have created a special listserv
that you can join by sending an e-mail to ebjc-subscribe @yahoogroups.com if you are interested in this
topic.

Additional daily parking at Neilson Plaza: The Parking Utility has arranged to lease on a temporary basis
200 additional parking spots on level 6 of the Tower Center garage complex. These spots are being used for
additional daily parking. This should help address the constant parking shortages at Neilson Plaza at least
for the time being.

Scribd: As a convenience to commuters, the CPAC is posting Suburban Transit schedules, holiday notices
and other important commuter information on Scribd. You can access our posted files at
http://www.tinyurl.com/ebscribd. We send an e-mail to our e-mail list when these documents are posted.
We generally can not e-mail the files themselves due to their size.

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The Commuter January 2009