August 20, 2025

Good evening, I am Rosalind Clay Carter, testifying as a member of the Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council.

As a longtime rider, I support the fare increases, which help keep our trains running frequently and pay for their complex operations. Small, regular and planned incremental increases are much better than the spikes in costs and drastic service reductions that we’re seeing in places like Philadelphia and Chicago.

The proposed changes for ticket purchases are asking us as riders to transform our approach to the way we travel. It’s a lot to ask at once and we hope you will reconsider implementing such dramatic changes so quickly.

I do support the idea of a day pass, provided the 10-percent reduced rate is approved. However, a missing component is programming the system to refund fares for a cancelled or significantly delayed train…or provide other means of getting a refund.

The four-hour expiration and auto activation proposals are a bit perplexing. As someone who used to buy their ticket the night before I travelled, or even days ahead of time, it will take some getting used to. Keeping the 10-trip would allow for advanced planning and be especially helpful for riders not as comfortable with technology as others.

Sometimes it just makes sense to have a ticket that isn’t automatically activated, for instance if you want to be sure your kid has one in their wallet – either virtual or physical. As staunch advocates for a reduced fare “mid-kid” ticket for 12-to-17-year-olds, it would be a good complement to find a solution that preserves an option for people to hand a physical ticket to adolescents without worrying about precise activation windows.

Lastly, thank you for recognizing that seniors and disabled riders deserve to use their discounts for morning peak travel. We’ve spoken about this for years, and we’re glad we’ve been heard.

The post Fare Change Hearing Testimony- Reconsider Asking Riders to Transform our Approach to Travel appeared first on PCAC.

August 20, 2025

Good morning. My name is Walter Zullig and I am speaking as a member of the Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council, and as a long-time Westchester resident who travels regularly on Metro-North.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed fare and toll changes. First, while no one likes a fare increase, we support planned, moderate raises to keep the system running.

We appreciate the proposal to allow senior citizens and riders with disabilities to use their half fare discount for travel during the morning peak hours. PCAC has long advocated for this common-sense change.

However, many of us take issue with some of the fare policy changes put forward—namely, the proposal for both digital and paper tickets to auto activate and expire four hours after purchase. There are many scenarios in which riders need the flexibility to purchase a ticket in advance or change their travel plans, particularly if a train is delayed past the expiration time. How will customers get a refund for tickets that expire without having been used? And will the $10 refund charge be applied? Riders need clarification about how this policy would work in practice. For paper tickets, the four-hour expiration window will require riders to make numerous transactions and reduces flexibility. A limit of seven days would be more reasonable.

Similarly, I support the concept of an unlimited “Day Pass,” but believe that it should not be limited to one railroad. There should also be a longer-term round-trip option for people travelling across multiple days.

While many of the proposals on the table are good, it’s clear that more public outreach must be conducted. We’re confident that with ample discussion between riders, workers, and the MTA, we can settle on a fare collection system that works for everyone.

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Mike Stanton, MNRCC Member

August 19, 2025

Good evening. My name is Mike Stanton and I am speaking as a member of the Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council, and as a long-time Westchester resident who travels regularly on Metro-North.

First, we support the moderate fare increase that will help keep the system running and budget balanced. MNRCC and the full Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee also strongly support the proposal to allow seniors and riders with disabilities to use their half-fare discount during the morning peak hours. PCAC has long advocated for this common-sense change, and we appreciate your responsiveness to rider concerns.

However, some of the fare policy changes proposed are complex, and should be subject to additional discussion before moving forward. We are concerned this abbreviated public comment period will not allow that to happen. We need a solution that simultaneously makes riders’ lives easier, ensures that the MTA collects fares for all riders, and works well for front-line workers dealing with the public.

I am particularly concerned about the possibility that the policy changes could lead to effective fare increases for some riders that are well above the average. For instance, the proposal for both digital and paper tickets to auto-activate and expire four hours after purchase could make collection more efficient and reduce fare evasion, but it’s also important to provide options for riders who need more flexibility. The loss of the ten-trip tickets would similarly reduce flexibility and could add substantial cost.

PCAC members and staff have already spent hours studying these proposals to try and spot those “shadow increases” that may not be equitably distributed and could ultimately discourage ridership. That work is complicated and takes time: Holding more hearings around the MTA region would help to gather a range of perspectives and provide a more complete understanding of the impacts. We’re confident that with discussion between riders, workers, and the MTA, we can settle on a fare collection system that works for everyone. Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

The post Fare Change Hearing Testimony- Moderate Fare Increases Made Better with Discounts and Discussion appeared first on PCAC.

In fact, Metro-North riders have many reasons to support congestion pricing, including critical upgrades to our signals, stations, tracks, and overall commutes. Altogether, $15 billion will be raised for critical capital projects across the MTA system, and for commuters who transfer from the railroad to the subway, we know that improvements need to be made and the system needs to be protected from the impacts of more severe storms. The longer we wait to build these critical resiliency improvements, the more expensive they will become—especially as we risk worsening extreme weather and disaster year after year. Congestion pricing will help us maintain our vital transit network for generations to come.

Riders across the system will benefit from the improvements that the funding will bring, including accessibility projects in stations in the Bronx and Westchester, security upgrades, new train cars repairs to Grand Central’s tracks and platforms, signal upgrades from Croton Harmon to Poughkeepsie, and better service on the Port Jervis line – not to mention the four new stations coming online in the Bronx through Penn Access that will make Metro-North more equitable.

After a generation without major improvements to the region’s transit system, we have begun to get a taste of what’s possible, from the Hudson Yards extension, to the Second Avenue subway, and the imminent opening of Grand Central Madison. The MTA deserves credit for building the internal capacity to deliver these projects and it has credibility when it speaks to riders about the future. If the MTA is forced to scale back its capital program in the absence of Congestion Pricing, and loses that knowledge, we risk spending more and getting less in the long run.

A variety of opinions will be heard today, including many pleas for exemptions. But these hearings are about whether Congestion Pricing will accomplish the goals of reducing traffic and increasing mobility around the Central Business District, and raising $1 billion annually for the MTA’s capital program with No Significant Impact on the environment. With 90% of people entering the CBD using transit, walking, or biking, congestion pricing will improve the commutes and lives of millions of New Yorkers and others around the region. The answer is a resounding YES, and a Finding of No Significant Impact is warranted.

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We already knew that Congestion Pricing will reduce traffic, improve air quality, and help fight climate change. More importantly, the data and projections in the Environmental Assessment show that the vast majority of people who enter Manhattan below 60th Street do so using public transit.  

Given our mass transit system that permits one to board a train in the northernmost section of the Bronx and travel all the way to Coney Island on a single swipe of a metro card or OMNY tap, it makes sense to implement a toll on the few who still choose to drive — in order to fund transit improvements for the millions of riders who depend on the MTA every day.   

Of course, the reality is that there are still “transportation deserts” that deny many residents of the outer boroughs ready access to reliably convenient public transportation, these residents should not bear the burden of Congestion Pricing.  

There are still questions to be answered – time to develop answers—Congestion Pricing should be accompanied by other policies to accomplish these goals. Including restrictions or incentives on truck deliveries during peak or off-peak business hours, and variable Congestion Pricing tolls depending on vehicle. We have companies with fully remote staff, surely these same companies can determine how to receive deliveries in off-peak hours.  

The transit system design, pricing, schedules, and service-frequency must be reimagined based on the new remote work and lifestyles. Not to mention the need for safe and clean transit vehicles and stations to attract riders and increase revenue. 

Congestion can be further improved by trucks not being double parked for deliveries and blocking streets and bus lanes. 

I recognize these are not easy solutions but warrant research and exploration as you implement Congestion Pricing. 

Thank you for your time and consideration. 

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Traffic congestion is a serious problem in Manhattan and beyond. Heavy air pollution, reduced quality of life, and extensive delays can all be mitigated through congestion pricing. It’s only fair to require drivers to bear more of the cost of our streets to make the region healthier, safer, and better for everyone.

Congestion pricing will help us avoid a grim reality for the MTA’s future. Federal emergency funding will dry up sooner than we are prepared for, and without a long-term strategy like congestion pricing, everyday subway, bus, and commuter rail riders will take the hit. The billion dollars bonded to $15 billion dollars brought in annually by congestion pricing are more than just crucial: they will be the lifeblood of the entire New York City metropolitan area.

With congestion pricing, Metro-North can become the best option for even more Westchester and other Hudson Valley residents. Projects like repairing and making more stations ADA accessible; extending Metro-North to Penn Station and adding four more stations in the Bronx; and making critical track, signal, and power upgrades along the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven lines as well as the West of Hudson lines will ensure that our communities have safe, reliable, efficient service. Public transit is already the most environmentally friendly form of transportation, but we have to make sure that we’re prepared to face worsening climate change and extreme weather by funding critical infrastructure improvements around the region.

Congestion pricing with few exemptions is the only feasible way to raise funding for essential improvements to Metro-North. It’s the best way to make sure that fare discounts and flexible fare options are possible, bringing more riders to the commuter rail system by making it more affordable. 

Thanks to congestion pricing, the transit system we desperately need is in sight. And to my fellow Westchester residents I say: take Metro-North the next time you go down to the city. You’ll have a more relaxing trip while helping to make our entire region stronger than ever. 

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