Essential workers still the backbone of NJ Transit’s COVID ridership, survey says Updated Apr 01, 2021; When are commuters expecting to head back to the office? NJ Transit’s December rider survey said a slim majority of those surveyed are ready to return to the workplace. Commuters also applauded most of their fellow riders for wearing masks and gave the agency decent marks for keeping equipment and facilities sanitized. Almost 54,000 people took the agency’s third coronavirus survey and the results were revealed Wednesday. Essential workers riding local buses continue to be the backbone of NJ Transit’s to-and-from work ridership during the pandemic.