LIRR ridership up in congestion pricing's first month 

One month into New York's congestion pricing program, some Long Island Rail Road commuters have noticed significantly more people on their trains, and MTA data shows an unusually high increase in ridership at some stations. 

While Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials expected the new Manhattan tolls would push some commuters out of their car and onto the train, they are hesitant to attribute the ridership gains solely to congestion pricing. Overall ridership was up 13% throughout the LIRR in January — less than the 15% systemwide increase that the railroad experienced in December, suggesting that any congestion-pricing related gains may be limited to a few key stations.

"I think it’s way too early to make any direct correlation as to ridership gains being specific to congestion relief," said LIRR President Robert Free, who believes the tolling plan could be one of several factors — including the railroad's improving performance — behind the extra passengers the LIRR has carried in recent weeks. "Is it possible? Absolutely."

After years of planning, debate, and court battles, New York's first-in-the-nation congestion pricing program took effect on Jan. 5, with one of its goals discouraging driving into Manhattan, and encouraging the use of mass transit. MTA officials have touted the early success of the plan, pointing to data that shows about 30,000 fewer vehicles on an average weekday entering the toll zone below 60th Street in Manhattan, and faster travel times at river crossings into Manhattan in the morning and along several city streets in the evening peak.

MTA officials have also suggested that rising ridership in its transit system may also be tied to congestion pricing, as some commuters switch from driving into the city to instead taking the a bus or train. A Jan. 29 presentation given by project leaders to MTA Board members to illustrate how well the plan is working included data on recent ridership gains throughout the transit system.

"When it comes to transit ridership and the impacts that the program has had on public transportation, what we studied, what we expected, what we planned is what seems to be happening," MTA Deputy policy chief Juliette Michaelson said at the meeting.

Large jumps at New Hyde Park, Garden City, Ronkonkoma

Although ridership has risen throughout the transit system for years as New York has continued its economic recovery from COVID-19, MTA officials highlighted that, at some LIRR stations, the influx of new riders since congestion pricing took effect has outpaced recent gains.

Measuring one-way and round-trip tickets sold Tuesday through Thursday, and excluding holiday weeks, MTA figures show that ridership at New Hyde Park climbed 22% in January as compared to the same month last year. That’s 8 percentage points higher than the year-over-year ridership gains the same station saw in December.

In January, ridership at Garden City was up 19% compared to January 2023. In December, it was up only 3%.

Other stations experienced similar patterns, according to MTA data, including Woodmere, Ronkonkoma and Douglaston, which carried 26% more passengers than a year earlier.

MTA Operations Planning Chief Chris Pangilinan, in giving the presentation, acknowledged that it is "a little more difficult to tease out" the impact from congestion pricing on the LIRR compared with other forms of transportation, because of its "breadth of ridership." The LIRR — the largest commuter railroad in North America — serves more than 200,000 riders daily across 126 stations in five counties.

Riders react

At New Hyde Park station Wednesday, some morning rush hour commuters said they’ve noticed more people on the platform, and on the train, in recent weeks.

Ryan Jaghab, of Garden City, said he went from occasionally standing during his commute to and from work, to almost exclusively doing so.

"There’s people up and down the rows," said Jaghab, 24, who hopes to see the MTA’s new toll revenue windfall be put toward improving LIRR service. "I feel like if you’re going to force people to use mass transit, it would be nice to see it run more efficiently."

"You rarely get a seat on the LIRR anyway, but I have noticed that there are more people than usual," said Joslin Plathottam, of Stewart Manor, 29, a research coordinator. "I would never want to drive into the city. The train is definitely still the most convenient option."

But not all riders believe the new tolls have made much, if any, difference in LIRR passenger counts. In a New Hyde Park waiting room occupied by fewer than a dozen people, Jathesh Jayarajan said if the station had recently experienced a ridership boom, "you should see more people here."

"I don’t think I see a 20% increase," Jayarajan, 45, of New Hyde Park, said. "My train ride is comfortable. I don’t necessarily have a seat every day, but it’s only a half-hour ride."

MTA officials have pointed out that before congestion pricing was enacted, more than 80% of Long Island commuters into Manhattan already used public transportation.

An environmental study conducted by the MTA for the tolling plan predicted that LIRR ridership would climb between 0.6% and 2% "because some people would shift to transit rather than driving." With the LIRR averaging around 200,000 weekday customers in January, that would work out to 1,200 to 4,000 extra passengers daily.

Also putting more riders on LIRR trains, at least temporarily, is a new program offering Far Rockaway station riders a $2.75 discounted fare to Manhattan while the A subway line is shut down for four months for repairs.

'Room for everybody,' MTA says

Subways and some express bus lines have also shown early indications of congestion pricing-related ridership increases, MTA officials have said. Addressing concerns about the potential for the new tolls to contribute to overcrowding in the transit system, MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said, with only around 130,000 people in the region regularly commuting by car to Manhattan, "there’s room for everybody."

"If every one of them got out of their car and came on the subway, the bus, or the Long Island Rail Road, or whatever, it would be a drop in the bucket," Lieber told reporters following a Jan. 29 MTA Board meeting in Manhattan. "We have plenty of room."

But it’s also less room than LIRR riders have had in a long time. After plummeting during the pandemic, LIRR ridership has rebounded to about 86% of what it was in 2019 — a year in which the railroad carried 91 million riders, the most in 70 years.

Gerard Bringmann, chairman of the LIRR Commuter Council, a rider advocacy group, said the railroad is in a “can’t win position” when it comes to ridership.

“If your numbers are lower, then you’re not getting the revenue,” said Bringmann, a non-voting member of the MTA Board. “But then when your numbers climb back up, then you do start to have the growing pains of people maybe not finding seats.”

Bringmann said the LIRR would be in a better situation if it had more trains, including the new fleet of M9A trains it once expected to have in place by 2022. The railroad still hasn’t awarded a contract for the new trains. Lieber said last week the MTA will make a decision whether or not to go forward with the purchase in the next six months.

“We desperately need those things,” Bringmann said. 

Seeking to quell concerns about the railroad's capacity to handle the extra riders, Free noted that the LIRR dramatically increased the number of trains it operated in 2023, with the opening of Grand Central Madison.

Free noted that, during peak periods, the LIRR operates at around 60% capacity. Of more than 20,000 trains operated by the LIRR in January, less than half of 1% were at 90% capacity or above, according to Free.

While congestion pricing may have a role in driving up use of the LIRR system, Free said he believes the railroad’s growing ridership is also a testament to its recent performance, which has included growing customer satisfaction scores and a 95.6% annual on-time performance in 2024, the highest of any non-pandemic year.

"I think there are several circumstances that contribute to our increased ridership," Free said.

MTA officials have said congestion pricing has been so successful in its first weeks that they have begun hearing from officials from other U.S. cities interested in implementing their own plan.

Still, it remains unclear if New York's plan is here to stay. The program still faces intense opposition, including in the form of several lawsuits, and from elected officials urging President Donald Trump — a vocal congestion pricing opponent — to repeal federal approval.

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

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.