By ALEX COSTELLO
Facing a deficit of $1.2 billion, the MTA voted to increase fares for the Long Island Rail Road by about 26 percent in addition to service cuts and the elimination 31 positions, some of which would require layoffs. Absent bailout funding in the state budget, MTA officials say they see no other way to close their deficit.
"I really can't even express how upset that I am, and other people that I take the train with every day," said Steve Partland, a commuter from Island Park who has been taking the train to work in the city for the past 29 years. "Everybody feels the same way. The only thing the MTA executives are proving is that they have no idea what they're doing."
The price of a monthly ticket on the LIRR from Oceanside and Island Park to Penn Station is going up from $211 to $267, a weekly ticket is going from $67.50 to $85.50, and a one-way peak ticket is going from $9.75 to $12.25. Even people who take the train in the off-peak hours are feeling the affects of the rate hike, as the price for a one-way off-peak ticket is going from $7 to $9. Commuters taking the subway have to pay even more, with a 30 day subway pass increasing $22, from $81 to $103. Bus riders are facing an increase of 75 percent, from $2 a ride to $3.50. For a person taking the bus two times a day five days a week, that's an increase of $15 a week, or $780 a year.
Frank Ambrosia, another Island Park commuter, not only has to take the train to Penn Station every day, but the has to take a subway downtown to the World Financial Center, where he works. With the increases to the monthly train tickets and the MetroCards, Ambrosia would have to pay an additional $936 a year.
"Everything is going up. I don't know. I don't know how we're supposed to do this," he said. "I don't know if they want us to start driving in. I assume that they don't. I guess you just have to cut back, but I don't know what you'd cut back on."
In addition to fare hikes, the MTA also plans to make cuts across many different parts of its operation. According to information provided by the MTA, it will delay or cancel maintenance to the toilets and interiors of some of the cars, reduce the amount of money spent on graffiti removal and reduce travel information office staffing and station maintenance.
The MTA also plans to merge two morning peak and two afternoon trains on the Babylon Branch and canceling one p.m. peak train on the Long Beach branch altogether.
"It's less service for more money," said James Ende, an Oceanside resident who takes the train from Baldwin to Penn Station. "It's just ridiculous."
The cuts are making some people question whether or not they should keep taking the train, or if they should find another way to get to work.
"I was thinking about what a couple of my friends do," Partland said. "They drive to Long Island City and then they take the No. 7 train from there. That might be a little cheaper."
Mike Russo contributed reporting.
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