New MTA Perks For Outer Borough Train Riders Anger LI, HV Congressmen

NEW YORK — On Tuesday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board approved pilot programs to increase service on express buses from Brooklyn and Staten Island into downtown Manhattan and to offer a 10 percent discount on the price of monthly commuter rail tickets within New York City — angering members of the U.S. House of Representatives from the Hudson Valley and Long Island.

Both programs are designed to appeal to people in the outer boroughs who might consider switching to transit from driving into the Manhattan Central Business District as congestion pricing goes into effect June 1.

State lawmakers allocated revenue to cover the programs from a pre-existing pool of funding for the city called the Outer Borough Transportation Account. It was created in 2018 by the State Legislature to improve transportation in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island in association with congestion pricing.

"These are the kinds of investments outer borough commuters want to see, and the State Legislature understands that — as proven by this year’s budget," said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. "Building on the best subway service in decades and historic on-time performance on Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road, now the MTA is taking another big step by increasing frequency on express buses and expanding commuter rail affordability."

After the vote, Congressmen Anthony D’Esposito, Pat Ryan, Mike Lawler and Anthony released a joint statement demanding the MTA extend the discounts to all Metro-North and LIRR riders.

D'Esposito accused the MTA of playing favorites and "leaving Long Islanders out to dry."

"With no improvement in service for our communities and still no one-seat ride for Rockland County commuters, it is yet another example of how congestion pricing is nothing more than a massive cash grab to the MTA and NYC at their expense," Lawler said, demanding more infrastructure upgrades in the Hudson Valley.

"First the MTA forced through an unfair, uninformed, and unacceptable congestion pricing plan, ignoring the voices of countless Hudson Valley firefighters, police officers, union members, teachers and other hard-working families. Now they’re adding insult to injury," Ryan said.

What the legislature did was to bring the monthly ticket cost for within-city travel on the LIRR and Metro-North more or less in alignment with the existing CityTicket program, Lieber said during a news conference after the board vote.

"The principal thing that it did is it brought a benefit that already existed into some alignment with a daily ticket discount that had already been provided," he said.

CityTicket — highly discounted one-way tickets valid for travel within New York City — were previously expanded from weekend-only in 2022 to all off-peak trains and in 2023 to peak trains, specifically to boost travel in NYC on the railroads.

The LIRR has 24 stations in Brooklyn and Queens, and Metro-North has 13 stations in the Bronx, as well as a stop in Harlem.

CityTicket will also be valid for travel to and from Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station.

"I think that has a great benefit for being an attraction for some folks who instead of having to buy a new city ticket every day now can buy a monthly if they're regular commuters," Lieber said.

As for the concern that city residents are getting perks while Long Islanders and Hudson Valley residents are not, Lieber said, "There have been huge discounts since the onset of COVID. ... The OMNY system now gives discounts for weeklies automatically. Our monthlies on Long Island and in Westchester are actually cheaper than they were before COVID, cheaper than they were before the pandemic."

Plus, he pointed out, for the LIRR the MTA added a third track, rebuilt Penn Station and last year added east-side access with Grand Central Madison, increased service levels 41 percent and created reverse-peak service on the Port Jefferson and Ronkonkoma branches for the first time.

Metro-North service is being expanded from New Rochelle with the Penn Station Access project under construction for commuters in Connecticut, the Hudson Valley and the Bronx.

"I just remind all of us that MTA fares since 2016 have gone up — the base fare — like 4 percent when the CPI has gone up over 30 percent," he said. "So, we think we’re really hitting the mark on affordability."

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