MTA Official Wants Cheaper City Railroad Fares
Today’s meetings at MTA headquarters should be interesting when one of its board members, Allen P. Cappelli proposes his idea of reduced fares for city residents using either the Long Island Rail Road or Metro-North Railroad. Dan Rivoli of the New York Daily News has more:
An MTA board member will press the transit agency on Monday to cut the commuter rail ticket prices for New Yorkers who want to travel around the city.
Allen Cappelli told the Daily News he’ll make the case at a Metropolitan Transportation Authority board meeting on Monday that the agency needs to study whether cheaper Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North tickets will help New Yorkers without subway access and poor bus service move around faster.
“We are one system,” Cappelli said. “It would also take additional strain off the subways.”
MTA officials have said the idea would put a dent on revenue, with the agency estimating a loss of $70 million in fares a year.
But Cappelli isn’t buying the cries of poverty yet.
“Honestly, it sounds to me like seat-of-the-pants analysis and I think this issue warrants more than somebody’s best guess,” Cappelli said of the MTA’s price tag.
Click here for the complete report.
While this idea sounds nice on paper, it really does not take into account what the real issue is for commuters in transit deficient neighborhoods & that is the lack of available & reliable options. Instead of giving discounts, how about finding ways to bring more service to such areas.
Also another angle to look at this idea is how unfair it is to the majority of riders who make up the ridership of the respective railroads. Our costs are too high for the level & quality of service we receive.
One way or another, if this idea becomes a reality, I am sure the agency will find a way to pass on the costs of the discount subsidy to the majority who would not benefit which is completely unacceptable!
xoxo Transit Blogger
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment