Thursday, October 1, 2026
New York State Senators Jack Martins, Steve Rhoads, and Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick called for an audit of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority during a press conference at the Mineola train station on Sept. 8, blasting the agency’s plan to raise Long Island Rail Road fares and have four-hour expiration limits on single-ride tickets.
The MTA proposed a 4.4 percent fare hike on one-way peak, monthly, and weekly tickets. Off-peak city tickets would increase by 25 cents, to $5.25, and peak city trips would rise to $7.25. Monthly tickets would be capped at $500.
If approved, the increases would take effect in January 2026.
Martins said commuters are being “gouged” while the MTA, which he says operates on a $19.9 billion budget, has failed to demonstrate cost-cutting measures.
“I have yet to see a time when the MTA has come out and said, ‘We’re cutting our expenses, we’re cutting costs,’” Martins said. “Let’s put the burden on the MTA, and frankly, on the governor and Albany, to show some real leadership and finally bring that $19.9 billion budget into some sense of sanity.”
Rhoads echoed Martins’ concerns, describing the MTA as “addicted to spending.”
To make matters worse for commuters, LIRR unions are threatening to strike as early as Sept. 18, after contract negotiations with the MTA stalled. Five unions, representing nearly half of the LIRR’s 7,000 employees, are seeking a 15 percent wage increase over three years, with the MTA countering at 9.5 percent.
If the strike goes forward, it could shut down the entire commuter rail system, stranding the roughly 300,000 riders who rely on it each weekday.
A strike could still be avoided if a federal Presidential Emergency Board is appointed to mediate the dispute. So far, no requests have been made by the unions, the MTA, or Gov. Kathy Hochul to trigger that step.
“Let’s be clear: Long Islanders are now facing the possibility of a labor action on the LIRR because the Trump administration took the unprecedented and reckless step of ending federal mediation early,” said Gordon Tepper, Hochul’s Long Island press secretary. “It’s now up to the unions to come to the table and negotiate in good faith with the MTA.”
