June 2009 Fare Increase/Metro North-LIRR Merger

It looks highly likely that the MTA is going to jack up fares effective June 2009 according to the New York Times. Fares could increase as much as 23% on the Long Island Rail Road. Rather then whine about the increase, I would like to instead propose significant cost-cutting measures by merging Metro North and Long Island Rail Roads. This proposal was made originally in 2002 that would have eliminated about 62,000 redundant jobs. Many Metro North commuters at the time objected to the merger because they felt that their level of service would suffer because LIRR service was so awful (C+).

However in 2007, MTA Executive Director Lee Sander killed the idea of a merger originally floated by his predecessor Peter Kalikow stating "I believe it is important to have a separate service identity for Metro-North and for Long Island Rail Road." Sander did pay lip service to "[combining] some support services of both the LIRR and Metro-North."

Reading between the lines here it is pretty evident the type of power that the LIRR Transportation Workers Union yields as well as other self-interested parties (LIRR Directors/Board Members) . What commuter cares about a seperate identity? If the train is clean, on-time and the conductor has all the cars open does it matter if it's called MTA Rail or LIRR?

Mainline Blues

The mainline is the Achilles Heel of the LIRR routes because of poor drainage and multiple grade crossings that need constant maintenance. According to the Assessment Of The Condition Of The MTA Long Island Rail Road published in September 2007, "Turnouts and grade crossings are the weakest elements on any railway’s track structure, and require constant maintenance attention. The grade crossing renewal program on LIRR is excellent. The interlocking maintenance is not."

Has anyone at the LIRR read this report?

Service Nosedives as Fares go up

Here it is the first peak day of the fare increase and service on the LIRR has fallen off the scale. The Mainline this morning has experienced 10 to 15 minute delays in both directions on the Ronkonkoma and Port Jefferson Branches due to switch trouble in the Hicksville. Also, there are 10 to 15 minute delays into Penn Station due to switch trouble at the Harold Interlocking just east of the East River Tunnel.

It is ironic that these delays come on the heels of the LIRR reporting 2007 as its second-best year ever for customer satisfaction since it started collecting data in 1991.

Fare Hike March 1st

As of March 1st, it will now cost you an additional 4% for a monthly or weekly ticket. Daily, peak and 10-trip increases are even higher at ~5.5%. I would raise my hand in favor of these increases if we, the ridership, were going to receive additional value.

The main question is, does the MTA deliver sufficient value to justify the fare increase?

Here's the new fare tables on the MTA's Website: http://www.mta.info/mta/news/hearings/fareandtoll/lirr-sample.htm

This fare hike is just the beginning if the MTA doesn't get its act together. They are sitting on a mountain of debt and have no real strategy to rein in costs like labor and entitlements. The culture of the organization is totally archaic as well. Instead of focusing outwardly to deliver superior service to the customer, the MTA is an inward-looking organization focused on work rules and labor-management relations. We the customers are way down on their list of priorities. This is evident each time you ride a train off peak and they have cars closed off while people crowd into the open cars.

There is some hope however. The MTA is starting to figure out the value of technology as far as reducing costs and maximizing value. In the not too distant future, you will be able to use your RFID-embedded Visa or Mastercard to purchase a fare on the subway without having to purchase a Metrocard. Perhaps this technology can be adopted by the railroads as well, but don't hold your breath.

Metrocard 6.6% Increase and Proposed Rail Hike

Unlimited Metrocards may increase from $76.00 to $81.00 to put a further squeeze on outer borough/tri-state commuters and most commuter rail fares would increase 3.76 to 4.25 percent according to an article in today's New York Times. The $5.00 increase on the Unlimited Monthly Metrocard isn't going to break the bank for most if not all Dashing Dans and Dotties. It will help keep the base fare at $2.00, which is vital for working class New Yorkers who can't afford the unlimited monthly card. Looking at January 2008, with two holidays (New Year's Day and Martin Luther King, Jr's birthday), the average cost per ride for a Monday-Friday commuter would be $1.93 if the increase went into effect January 1st. This assumes a round trip on the subway to the commuter bus/rail hub on a weekday. Of course, the more you use the card the lower the cost per trip. It's still a decent value.

Unlike the Metrocard increase, the proposed rail increase is regressive and will force more people to drive into the city who are on the cusp of being able to afford taking the LIRR today. They will either need to get into car pools and/or drive and park in Queens. This will add more traffic at earlier hours on the LIE and Grand Central, which are already over-burdened with traffic. It will also add more pollutants and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

The MTA-LIRR is a self-serving organization that lacks creativity and flexibility. LIRR rests on its laurels because it touts itself as the "largest commuter railroad in the country" and doesn't see the need for real improvement. Unfortunately, this organization is prone to ever-increasing costs without any clear revenue stream to support it.

Sign the Petition - No Fare Hike!

State Senator Carl Marcellino of the 5th Senate District has a petition to stop the LIRR fare increase slated for 2008. Go here to sign it:
http://www.senatormarcellino.com/jtf.asp

It's beyond incredible that the MTA LIRR would even ask for a fare hike and not even look to aggressively cut costs or deliver greater value. Their plan is to deliver mediocre (at best) service, continue to drone on about 'watching the gap' without actually fixing the problem and continue to feed our hard-earned dollars to this moribund cherade of a railroad until the public is totally milked of any value. That's called the tipping point - when people start driving into Queens and getting on the subway to bypass the railroad altogether.

In the real world of private sector business, the name of the game is deliver value or perish.

Unfotunately, this does not apply to quasi-governmental organizations.

Proposed Fair Hikes

It looks like the MTA will be looking to increase fares by 6% on the LIRR across the board. Go here for Proposed fair info http://www.mta.info/mta/news/hearings/fareandtoll/lirr-sample.htm

I'm still holding fast that the MTA should be splitting the difference by cutting their costs and raising our fares by 3%. There are certainly many areas where they could do this and not effect service.