25% LIRR Increase; $2 Subway Fare

Total Crooks!!!!! Delays almost everyday, no seats, barely any new trains and for all that we have to pay more This will cost me $51 more per month- even more when Scott is out of town and I have to pay extra to take the train closer to my house!


By Joie Tyrrell
Staff Writer

March 5, 2003, 2:52 PM EST

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will raise Long Island Rail Road fares by 25 percent and institute a $2 subway fare, transit authorities said today. Bridge and tunnel fares will also rise by 50 cents.

A formal decision on the fare hike will be announced tomorrow, the first since 1995. The changes were chosen to help bridge the agency's estimated $1 billion, two-year deficit.

Under the plan, token booth services will not be affected.

The MTA's largest union, Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union, threatened to sue the agency yesterday with the association Guide Dog Users of New York on charges the token booth closings might violate disability laws. David De Porte, president of guide dog group, said removing token booth operators would force some blind people to use turnstiles, endangering them and their dogs.

The MTA has said there will be an agent posted at every station, but critics noted that, in some cases, agents will serve customers traveling only in one direction. Others worry they will have to walk blocks underground in sparse, dim tunnels.

Staff Writers Joshua Rubin and Jordan Rau contributed to this report.

This is outrageous!!!

That is awful

OMG!!! I heard about the tokens going up, but didn't realize the LIRR fares were being increased also. That raises my train ticket to $146/month and I LIVE IN QUEENS!!!

And like you said Michele, this is for the priviliege of standing on an old train that is almost always late!

Go to this address and at the bottom click 'e-mail'. Then you can send a complaint. I did. It is below.
http://mta.info/faqs_lirr.htm

I am not sure why you think you are entitled to an additional $50+ per month from me. You have DELAYS nearly everyday (does the phrase 'equipment trouble' mean anything to you?), almost non-existent new trains, trains that are barely cleaned (okay, you wipe off the seats but how about the windows, baseboard areas etc..?), and often passengers do not even get a seat for a 1/hour+ ride home.
What we need is a new railroad- one that would compete for my business. Maybe if I had a nice new train to ride nearly everyday , and I wasn't hearing 'we are sorry' sometimes twice a day due to delays I wouldn't mind. If you were an airline you would be out of business with the way things are run!
With unemployment reaching new highs and NYC in major trouble now IS NOT the time to screw your passengers out of what little money is left. I hope you are all very happy with yourselves? Hum. I wonder what the pay raises were at the LIRR management this year?

Just we need more expenses. Well there goes lunches out.

That is totally unfare

Lokks like EVERYTHING is going to go up, even tuition for SUNY schools I heard.

THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!!
25% increase to pay for the so-so trains that usually run late/are delayed, with annoucements that are garbled, bathrms that are unclean IF they work, and CROWDED.

I, too, thought the raise was just for the subways.
This raises my ticket to about $185 not counting my subway fare each day!!

great- just in time for my return to work. Yet another thing to deal with.

Ugh! I'm sorry!

I'm outraged too and Michele, good for you with that complaint!! Rob was just venting this morning too, we'll be sure to put a complaint in too!!!
My monthly communte increases to about $250 with subway!!! Ugh ...

And if that commuter tax goes through, I'll be doing a double ugh ....

They are voting on this increase this morning...I saw it on the news this morning. This is ridiculous, and I totally feel for all my commuter friends that this will effect.

LI gets the short end all around!! *****Y service on LIRR, subways going up AND we pay the most in property tax ANYWHERE!! Makes you want to
MOVE OUT OF NEW YORK!!!

NYC gets a boost in their economy ... when commuters come they spend $$$ every day! Its always the middle class who can hardly afford it that gets hit.

Maybe if we all chip in we can buy a hellicopter and get to NYC in 15 minutes instead of taking the stupid LIRR/subway.

We should all stage a NO-RIDE! LIRR commuters should NOT ride the trains for one day. Then they will know how much we bring to the ecomony.