New MTA fare incentives reward Brooklyn LIRR riders

December 15, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Long Island Rail Road trains at the Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn. Wikimedia public domain photo by Pacific Coast Highway

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To encourage New York’s ridership recovery and reduce costs and uncertainty for public transportation customers, the MTA on Wednesday announced a pilot program to test a series of temporary promotional changes to fare structures for New York City Transit, the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad.

The pilot will begin March 1 and last for at least four months.

For Brooklyn’s Long Island Rail Road, the pilot will offer promotional fares designed to encourage railroad ridership, especially for trips within New York City and to provide ticketing options more closely aligned with the evolving needs of those with flexible work schedules.

‘City Ticket’ – which offers a reduced, flat fare for commuter rail travel within New York City on weekends – will be extended to all weekday off-peak trains at a fare of $5. This is a $2.75 or 35 percent discount from the LIRR’s current weekday fare between eastern Queens and Brooklyn, which is $7.75.

Under the pilot, the subway and bus customers could use the enhanced flexibility provided by OMNY to offer subway and local bus customers the best possible fare for all trips.

Under this pilot, customers who tap and go with OMNY would be charged the standard $2.75 pay-per-ride fare for their first 12 trips starting every Monday. Any further trips through the following Sunday would be free of charge.

As a result, no OMNY customer would pay more than $33.00 per week, which is the current price of a seven-day unlimited-ride MetroCard, and customers would receive the benefit of a seven-day unlimited-ride card without paying upfront.

“Our fare structure is an important tool we have to win back riders,” said Janno Lieber, MTA acting chair and CEO. “Business logic says it doesn’t make sense to increase the price just as you’re trying to rebuild your customer base. So, we’re leaving the basic fare alone for now and rolling out a slate of new pilot fare promotions.”

The MTA is retaining free transfers between subways and buses for all customers. Two-part trips that are linked by a free transfer between a subway and bus are considered a single trip toward the 12 needed to reach the fare-free threshold each week.