By ROKSANA AMID
& Brian Kacharaba
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is facing fierce opposition from Long Island commuters as it considers a new round of fare hikes and ticketing changes that could take effect in January. At a series of packed public hearings at MTA headquarters in Brooklyn on Aug. 19 and 20, residents voiced frustration over the plan, which would raise Long Island Rail Road fares by an average of 4.4 percent and overhaul the way tickets are purchased and used.
The proposal, unveiled on July 30, would mark the first increase since August 2023, when fares rose by 4.5 percent. If it is approved, peak trips between Glen Cove and Penn Station would climb to $7.25, off-peak tickets to $5.25, and monthly tickets would be capped at $500. The MTA also aims to end its longstanding policy of issuing tickets that remain valid for weeks or months, instead limiting one-way purchases to four hours of use and replacing round-trip tickets with a new “Day Pass,” valid until 4 a.m. the next morning.
“We strive to make fare and toll increases small and predictable,” Jessie Lazarus, the MTA’s chief of commercial ventures said during the first night of testimony last week. She pointed to a policy adopted 15 years ago in order to avoid the double-digit hikes of the 1980s. “The MTA is what keeps New York affordable,” Lazarus added. “And fares and tolls are what keeps the MTA running and running frequent service.”
But for many on the Oyster Bay Line — long plagued by infrequent service and crowding — the proposed increases feel like paying more for less. Glen Cove City Councilwoman Danielle Fugazy Scagliola, who has been pressing
the MTA, alongside Assemblyman Charles Lavine, for better timetables since 2023, said the hikes could unfairly burden North Shore riders.
“Would I be willing to pay more for better service?” Fugazy Scagliola said. “I would. But for Oyster Bay riders to not get better service and to pay more, it’s really getting the short end of the stick.”
Commuters echoed those concerns. Leyana Stevenson, of Glen Cove, a social worker who commutes daily into Manhattan from the Glen Street station, said her monthly ticket already strains her budget.
“The very first time that I started to take the train, that was a sticker shock. That was 300-and-something dollars,” Stevenson said. “I’m the only parent that lives in my house. To have to commute to the city for a month … $300 is a lot out of a budget.”
Although her monthly fare is now $287 after a post-pandemic adjustment, Stevenson said that crowding and inconsistent service remain a daily challenge. She relies on the 6:14 a.m. train, the only nonstop from Glen Cove to Penn Station, to reach her Midtown office by 7:30. In the evenings, her 4:25 p.m. return train is frequently overcrowded.
“The issue with that one is that it’s always crowded a lot,” Stevenson said, describing times when trains have had only three cars instead of four. “If we’re going to make Glen Cove the town where people want to come visit, you want to make it easier and accessible to get there and to also get back home.”
She also pointed to problems with customer service and cleanliness. “If something happened with the kiosk, you’re out of $300 until you get something done, and that was just a headache,” Stevenson said. “I don’t know how often they clean the restrooms. I’ve never really seen a clean, clean restroom, unless it’s a brand new train.”
Other commuters compare Long Island’s costs unfavorably with those in nearby states. “There’s a reason that the beautiful community I grew up in is hemorrhaging residents,” Christiane Mahterian, who grew up in Sea Cliff but now lives in New Jersey, said. “For less than half the price of the LIRR, I have a commute to Manhattan of about the same length. These price hikes will eventually have a significant negative impact on Long Island’s sustainability as a commuter location. I’d always hoped to move home someday, but that becomes more and more unrealistic by the day.”
Lavine, who represents the area in the Assembly, said he has urged MTA leaders to reduce the scale of the increase. “I sent a letter to the executive director of the Metropolitan Transportation Council last week, urging that any LIRR ticket increase be less than the 4.4 percent that’s being projected,” he told the Herald on Tuesday. While acknowledging the agency’s financial pressures, he argued that the public’s input could influence the final plan.
“Our office has always had a very good system of communication with the Long Island Rail Road and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority,” Lavine said. “Because of the constructive nature of our ability to communicate, my request with respect to pricing of the tickets is going to get due consideration.”
He encouraged residents to continue submitting feedback before the MTA board votes this fall, to nymtc-public-info@dot.ny.gov. “People should weigh in,” Lavine said. “It is critical that we maintain the MTA, especially at a time when ridership is now at and above pre-pandemic levels.”
For Oyster Bay Line riders like Stevenson, however, the equation is simple: higher fares should come with better service. “Nobody wants to pay more for anything,” Fugazy Scagliola said. “And I don’t blame anybody for that.”
Additional reporting by Will Sheeline.
