Proposed "All Aboard Act" would reimburse NJ Transit riders stuck on trains

GLEN ROCK, N.J. -- Some NJ Transit commuters say they're fed up after a summer of delays and cancellations .

Back in June, the agency reported delays or temporary suspensions on at least eight different days . Gov. Phil Murphy then announced a joint plan to expedite investigations between NJ Transit and Amtrak.

In July, a 15% fare hike went into effect , and that same month riders faced multiple delays and cancellations because of the heat.

Now, a movement is underway to create a passenger bill of rights.

What you need to know about the "All Aboard Act"

At the Glen Rock Boro Hall station on Monday, Congressman Josh Gottheimer said in some of the worst scenarios transit riders must be reimbursed.

The bill is called the "All Aboard Act," with a rail-passenger bill of rights.

"The goal here is to make sure when people get on their trains they're not sitting for hours and hours," Gottheimer said.

He says when trains are delayed or canceled for at least three hours Amtrak would repay NJ Transit customers when its system is to blame. Earlier this summer, Amtrak and NJ Transit promised to do a better job of working together to fix chronic problems with infrastructure, technology and service .

There have been significant delays for months, with riders saying June was particularly awful .

"Everything needs to be overhauled, the way they run with informing their customers," said Adele Colon of South Jamaica, Queens.

Gottheimer said delays in June were so frequent, they made headlines and prompted the "All Board Act."

"The train only ran on time 75% of the time. If you commute five days a week, like a lot of people do, that means you can expect to be delayed one day a week on average," Gottheimer said.

"We were just delayed coming in by the overhead wires today. Today. Just now, I got off the train," said Sam Rivers of Newark.

CBS News New York reached out to Amtrak by phone and email, but did not immediately hear back.