Commuters Offered Concierge Service

No time to get to the dry cleaners after work? Need a quart of milk after the grocery store is closed? New Jersey Transit has the answer: a concierge service for commuters. The service lets commuters order goods from more than 50 local businesses in the morning on their way to work and then pick them up in the evening on their way home. Dressed in vests and ties, the concierge staff handed tired commuters their dry cleaning, groceries, photos or videos. The service takes a cut of 5% of the price from both passenger and merchant. Some 500 commuters signed up for the service--more than a third of the 1,400 people who use the train station daily from Maplewood, about 10 miles west of New York City. The service also can help customers with other tasks, such as buying a pass to the town pool or paying their sewer fees.