300,000 riders on an average weekday and more than 90 million total riders in 2016.

The agency was once considered a model for mass transit, but after years of lackluster state funding, it struggles to fully fund its operations and capital improvement program.

Though the agency says it has since filled many of the vacant positions, it remains lean on resources and low on morale, according to current and former officials.

Gov.-elect Phil Murphy has promised to fix NJ Transit's problems, but it isn't yet clear where he'll find the funding to do it.

Emil Frankel, a former commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation and a former assistant secretary of transportation for policy in the George W. Bush administration, said the pendulum can swing back and forth in state transportation agencies.

That30 of them found new jobs, including various levels of government from the City of Paterson to the Connecticut Department of Transportation to the Federal Railroad Administration.

In an attached letter, Robert Lavell, NJ Transit's vice president and general manager of rail operations, wrote that their combined experience totaled 2,339 years.

The Record and NorthJersey.com reported on Lavell's letter in November.

The list of management vacancies attached to the letter suggests an agency struggling to recruit and retain essential personnel.

While the list doesn't specify why NJ Transit managers sought work elsewhere, Lavell's letter did say say that the agency "cannot compete with the salaries offered."

Nancy Snyder, an NJ Transit spokeswoman, said the agency has hired 141 people across the board since July 2016 and increased the number of management positions.

She said