Hearings on proposed LIRR fare, toll increases start Thursday
Metropolitan Transportation Authority chairman Janno Lieber, seen here in March, has said fare and toll increases are necessary. Credit: Barry Sloan
Long Island commuters can sound off this week on MTA proposals to hike fares by around 4% and tolls by as much as 10%, including at a series of public hearings beginning Thursday.
A public comment period is already underway for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's plan to raise fares and tolls by the end of this summer — the first such rate increase since 2019.
Written comments can be submitted through the MTA’s website, mta.info.
The MTA is also hosting four hybrid public hearings from its headquarters at 2 Broadway in Manhattan. There will be two hearings on Thursday, at 2 p.m. and at 6 p.m., one on Friday at 10 a.m., and the last on June 26 at 6 p.m.
Testimony can be given in person or virtually over Zoom. Speakers can register through the MTA’s website, or by calling 646-252- 6777.
On the Long Island Rail Road, ticket prices would increase by around 4%, according to the railroad. That would bring the cost of a monthly pass between Hicksville and Manhattan to around $288, from the current $277. The LIRR is also proposing to reduce the discount on off-peak tickets, as compared with peak ones, to 26%, from the current 27.5%.
The MTA has set a $500 cap on the cost of LIRR tickets, and noted that, because of a 10% cut last year, the cost of a monthly ticket would remain below what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
On New York City subways and buses, the cost of a single trip would increase to $2.90, from the current $2.75. A 7-day unlimited MetroCard would go up by $1, and a 30-day MetroCard would increase by $5.
The MTA is considering various options to raise tolls at its bridges and tunnels. One proposal would hike all tolls by 7%. Another would increase tolls by 6% for E-ZPass users, and by 10% for all other drivers.
The MTA Board would vote on fare increases next month, and the changes would take effect by Labor Day, officials said.
The proposed increases come despite the State Legislature passing a budget that is expected to generate about $1 billion more in operating funds for the MTA annually, including through an increased payroll tax on employers.
Still, MTA chairman Janno Lieber, in a recent interview with WABC/7, defended the proposed fare increase, which he noted aims to keep up with inflation, and comes after twice postponing scheduled increases during the pandemic.
“Part of the plan was always that we would resume,” Lieber said in the June 11 interview. “We're going to go back to that pattern of very incremental small increases. [It] makes sense for financial stability.”
Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.
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