Starting from this week, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will hold a vote to approve a pilot program offering discounts on monthly passes for the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North in conjunction with the upcoming congestion pricing starting on June 30th. The initiative aims to encourage New Yorkers to opt for public transportation as their mode of travel and is expected to be implemented on July 1st.
According to the MTA’s plan, monthly passes for LIRR and Metro-North in the five boroughs of the city will receive a 10% discount. For instance, the monthly pass for LIRR between Jamaica in Queens and Penn Station in Manhattan will be reduced from $220 to $198, while the price for a Metro-North ticket from Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan to Yankee Stadium will decrease from $199.75 to $180.
MTA spokesperson Aaron Donovan stated, “Through these discounts, we hope to attract more residents to choose public transportation, thus reducing the use of vehicles in the city and alleviating traffic congestion.”
Funded by the Outer Borough Transportation Account established in 2019 to support improvements in the city’s transportation system, this one-year pilot program has received support from Governor Kathy Hochul and state legislators who withdrew over $20 million from the fund earlier this year to aid other discount initiatives by the MTA.
The Executive Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, Lisa Daglian, remarked, “In New York, public transportation is the most efficient way to travel. Not only does it save time and money, but it also helps protect our environment.”
This new discount program is set to officially launch on the second day of the congestion pricing scheme. MTA officials will closely monitor the usage of public transportation and consider a permanent implementation based on the results.