Good morning. I’m Jack Connors, Research & Communications at the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, PCAC.
First, congratulations to Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi on her well-deserved retirement. Cathy guided not one, but two of America’s three largest commuter railroads through a global pandemic and oversaw Metro-North’s best on-time performance in its history – a truly herculean effort. Riders are in your debt.
We’re thrilled to see MTA veteran Justin Vonashek taking the helm and wish you the best of luck.
As we approach spring fare increases, PCAC continues to advocate for targeted affordability measures on the railroads like allowing senior, disabled, and Medicare-eligible New Yorkers to use their discounts in the A.M. peak, expanding Family Fare to include a discount for twelve to seventeen-year-olds, and creating a weekly CityTicket with free transfers to subways and buses.
The one-way CityTicket is a great option for intracity riders who ride sporadically. But the cost – between $8 and $10 with a subway or bus transfer – leaves the railroads out of reach to far too many New York City riders, forcing them onto the slowest buses in America.
The streets may be the City’s purview, but railroad fares are firmly in the MTA’s wheelhouse. It’s time to breakdown old silos between agencies and make it cheaper for riders to take advantage of the fastest transit available to them. Just an hour and a half south, Philly has expanded its weekly and monthly transit pass to include 22 of its regional rail stations at no additional cost.
We look forward to learning more details about the railroads’ upcoming M-9A orders. As Metro-North expands for the first time in a generation and the LIRR’s rolling stock shortage continues to strain operations, the $3 billion congestion pricing will bring to the railroads has never been more crucial.
Thank you.