New Yorkers who take the the Long Island Rail Road or Metro-North within city limits will have a new way to save money when congestion pricing kicks in this summer.
The MTA is expected to vote Tuesday to approve a 10% discount on monthly tickets for commuter rail travel that begins and ends within the five boroughs.
The program — a pilot program meant to last at least a year — will be a monthly counterpart to the MTA’s “City Ticket,” which lets people travel within the city on the LIRR or Metro-North for a $5 off-peak fare or a $7 peak fare.
The new monthly discount is meant to make it easier for New Yorkers out of reach of the subway system to use public transit after the MTA begins tolling Manhattan-bound motorists with congestion pricing at the end of June.
The discounted monthly tickets can be used beginning in July. Commuters can purchase them as of June 25.
“Approximately 70,000 monthly passes are purchased [in a year] between Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road within city travel,” MTA Deputy Chief Financial Officer Jai Patel said Monday.
“It will also benefit approximately 12,000 monthly student tickets that are purchased annually,” she added.
The program is expected to cost the MTA $4 million in lost revenue, offset with funding from the agency’s Outer Borough Transportation Account.
Transit advocates have long called for a monthly City Ticket, especially after the cancellation of the LIRR’s “Atlantic Ticket” last year.
That ticket, which allowed for weekly LIRR trips to Atlantic Terminal from New York City stations at $5 per ride, also enabled free transfers to the subway or bus.
MTA board member Andrew Albert advocated for a similar transfer to be incorporated into the new monthly ticket.
“The majority of the folks who will utilize Long Island Rail Road and Metro North in the boroughs are not just having a one-seat ride,” he said.
Patel acknowledged the point, but said the MTA had no plans to add free transfers to the discount package.
©2024 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
