MTA ends discounted LIRR travel package program
The MTA is doing away with its discount LIRR travel packages to tourist destinations in the region, including Long Island beaches and wineries, according to a recent message to customers.
In a statement, Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman David Steckel said, "the program was underutilized, available only to a minority of riders who still purchase paper tickets, and was discontinued."
But Joe Versaggi, of Bridgewater, New Jersey, said he's been using a discounted travel package to visit Fire Island for 26 years. As of last summer, the cost of a packaged round-trip Long Island Rail Road ticket from Penn Station to Sayville, a taxi ride to and from Sayville, and ferry service to and from Sailors Haven was about $45, he said, a discount of about $20.
"Needless to say, I ain't going this year. I'm not going to be ripped off like that," said Versaggi, 68.
Bill Jacobs, port captain for the Sayville Ferry Service, said he’s heard from customers like Versaggi who plan to scale back their visits because of the eliminated discount package.
"We’re very unhappy about it, because people take advantage of the combination ticket coming from the city out here," Jacobs said, adding he received no explanation from the MTA for its decision. "It was a nice package deal that they offered for everybody out here to enjoy the summer on Long Island."
The MTA announced the news in an email to riders last week with the subject line "Saying Goodbye to MTA Away," referencing the name of the agency’s travel package program.
Under the MTA Away program, customers could take advantage of deep discounts on the combined price of train tickets and admission to destinations like Long Beach, Fire Island ferries, special events and theme parks. A discount package for Splish Splash in Calverton last year cost between $77 and $85.70 and included round-trip service from Penn Station — which alone would cost $47 during off-peak times.
As part of its plans to phase out the MetroCard by the end of this year, the MTA recently began making changes to some LIRR tickets, including monthly passes that are now a different size and printed on different paper than they were for years.
In an email to Versaggi shared with Newsday, an LIRR customer service representative said the program was being "temporarily discontinued as we work to update our ticket selling systems and other software."
Versaggi noted discounts are being taken away at the same time the LIRR has expanded summer service to the Hamptons. "Well, that's nice, but I'm not spending $700 on a hotel room out there," he said.
As part of the program, the MTA would also occasionally offer guided tours of Long Island wineries and breweries. Travelers could purchase tickets at LIRR ticket offices and vending machines.
The various offers still posted on the MTA Away website, including a 25% discount on the New York Botanical Garden, are all listed as "expired."
The elimination of the discount packages comes as the MTA launched its congestion pricing program in January, which aims to encourage New Yorkers to use mass transit rather than drive.
Gerard Bringmann, chairman of the LIRR Commuter Council and a nonvoting MTA Board member, said the program was instrumental in rebuilding the railroad's ridership, which still has not fully recovered following the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It helps bring people in ... You'll get people who take the ride out if they like the wine country, and then they say, 'Hey, this isn't too bad. I'm going to try the railroad for some other stuff,'" said Bringmann, who didn't receive advanced notice about the program ending. "This came out of left field."
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