New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy promised he’d fix the state’s ailing transit agency — one he even called a “national disgrace.” Now, seven months after taking office, Murphy admits he underestimated New Jersey Transit’s troubles, and says riders should expect no immediate relief.

Martin Robins — founding director of the Alan Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University and a former director of NJ Transit  — spoke to WNYC's Jami Floyd about how the Murphy administration has done so far and what needs to change at the agency.

 The focus this summer has been the shortage of engineers at NJ Transit, but Robins says the Murphy Administration needs to complete its promised audit of the agency to understand the scope of the problems at the agency.

"There really are many many more problems beyond the engineers," Robins said. "The problem is that Gov. Murphy ordered an audit — I'm very anxiously awaiting the results of that audit. The audit will give him a pathway to understanding what has gone wrong. 

Robins says one of the first steps may be to root out staff who were hired while Chris Christie was governor.

"They may need to replace a number of people on the staff of NJ Transit," Robins said. "That's because the organization was turned upside down by Governor Christie."