TRENTON – The Senate Transportation Committee advanced legislation sponsored by Senators Patrick Diegnan and Nellie Pou that would require New Jersey Transit to display historical information about the area in and around bus and rail stations.

“Many of our bus and rail stations are historic in and of themselves, representing both the story of our state’s development and a vision for transportation centered on transit services rather than a reliance on personal automobiles,” said Senator Diegnan (D-Middlesex), the Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. “Displaying this history, and that of the surrounding community, at transit stations will help it from being forgotten, as well as highlight the important historical character of our transportation system.”

The bill, S-325, would require the New Jersey Transit Corporation to identify a series of historic sites and memorials, located within and around its rail and bus stations. The agency would be directed to design, purchase, install, and maintain a historic marker describing the persons, places, and events commemorated.

“Transit stations are a near-daily presence in the lives of NJ Transit commuters, and many have been present in some form for over a century,” said Senator Pou (D-Bergen/Passaic). “There is an important story to be told by them, and showing that story in a highly visible place like a transit station will help ensure that it is heard.”

The sites and memorials of the New Jersey historic sites would be required to be inclusive of all eras and the diverse cultural aspects of our state’s history. NJ Transit would be able to seek assistance and cooperation from local government officials and entities, as well as entities that identify and compile data on historical sites and memorials, to assist in the effectuation of this bill’s provisions.