While the idea of lowering the cost of LIRR tickets inside the city is appealing, has anyone considered the impact on the few neighborhoods within NYC that have LIRR stations? The few LIRR trains that currently service these stations are already crowded and lowering the fare would most likely bring numerous new customers in places like Jamaica, Kew Gardens and Forest Hills seeking to avoid the over-crowded and delay plagued Queens IND Lines (E,F,M,R). Many bus riders heading for the subways in these neighborhoods would also instead head for the LIRR in those neighborhoods to avoid the IND adding to what would be a crush of new customers on the LIRR.
The IND service is a disaster too because of all the switching that goes on with the F and M trains where trains are having to switch tracks multiple times causing frequent delays. The F trains needs to be switched back to the 53rd Street tunnel and the M needs to be sent through the 63rd street tunnel thus eliminating multiple delay causing track switches on the line. Perhaps if the MTA could actually make the IND line function properly people would not feel the need to use the LIRR in these neighborhoods.
Also, how about a one price ride for city residents who need to use the LIRR or Metro North and the Subway? The devil is of course in the details but I have found myself having to pay three fares at times when I take public transportation from my neighborhood in Queens to Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn - subway to LIRR to subway again. Cost - $16.50 each way. Absurd.
As for tolls, how about eliminating them altogether except for rush hour Manhattan traffic? I drive most days from Queens to Brooklyn and don't pay a penny in tolls while co-workers of mine with shorter mileage commutes must pay daily tolls. How is it fair that we both use roads daily but since my co-worker lives in the Bronx she must pay tolls while I drive free? It's time to end the artificial barriers between boroughs by elimintaing or vastly reducing tolls and replacing the revenue with higher resgistraion and other fees on all vehicles so the cost of our infrastructure is not laid so heavily on those unfortunate enough to have to cross an MTA bridge just to get to their jobs and is instead spread more evenly across all drivers and even perhaps revenue from all New Yorkers who benefit from our road infrastructure even if they don't own a vehicle.
What would bring far more riders onto commuter rail lines is a free continuation of their trip onto the subway. It's not so much the cost of a monthly ticket that discourages people from using the LIRR as it is the fact that many need to pay for a monthly Metrocard as well. Of course if this was actually done LIRR stations in places like Jamaica, Kew Gardens, and Forest Hills would be overrun with new customers seeking to avoid the delay plagued terrible service on the IND lines (E,F,M,R). But it's just this lack of free transfer that puts me in my car every day to get to my office in Sheepshead Bay from Kew Gardens. I can take an LIRR train from Kew Gardens to Jamaica, then from Jamaica to Atlantic Avenue, then switch to the B train there. (The subway ride by itself from KG to BK is far too long to be considered). But to do this I'd have to buy two monthly tickets (Metrocard and LIRR) and the cost of that is what keeps me in my car - far too expensive.
So while lowering the price of city tickets and making them 7 days a week will be nice for occasional commuters and day-trippers it will do nothing for regular 5 day a week commuters who will still drive like me or take the subway.
One thing that could be done to improve the terrible IND Queens service (E,F,M,R) and which would cost very little would be to revert back to the days when the E and F went through the 53rd Street tunnel. Because the F now travels through the 63rd Street tunnel and the M goes through 53rd Street this requires the F to switch tracks before Queens Plaza westbound for the 63rd Street tunnel and for the M to switch onto the tracks for the 53rd Street tunnel at Queens Plaza. These track switches, east and westbound, cause delays all the time with the E delayed at Queens Plaza waiting for the M to switch in front of it or the M waiting for the E to clear the track. Westbound the F must slow down significantly in order to switch to the 63rd Street tunnel and eastbound the E or F is delayed when they both meet at the same time and compete for the eastbound express track east of Queens Plaza. If they would just revert to the F going to 53rd and the M going to 63rd these switch caused delays could be totally averted. I've seen this recommended on other transit sites and I think it would help improve service on these lines a lot.
While the idea of lowering the cost of LIRR tickets inside the city is appealing, has anyone considered the impact on the few neighborhoods within NYC that have LIRR stations? The few LIRR trains that currently service these stations are already crowded and lowering the fare would most likely bring numerous new customers in places like Jamaica, Kew Gardens and Forest Hills seeking to avoid the over-crowded and delay plagued Queens IND Lines (E,F,M,R). Many bus riders heading for the subways in these neighborhoods would also instead head for the LIRR in those neighborhoods to avoid the IND adding to what would be a crush of new customers on the LIRR.
The IND service is a disaster too because of all the switching that goes on with the F and M trains where trains are having to switch tracks multiple times causing frequent delays. The F trains needs to be switched back to the 53rd Street tunnel and the M needs to be sent through the 63rd street tunnel thus eliminating multiple delay causing track switches on the line. Perhaps if the MTA could actually make the IND line function properly people would not feel the need to use the LIRR in these neighborhoods.
Also, how about a one price ride for city residents who need to use the LIRR or Metro North and the Subway? The devil is of course in the details but I have found myself having to pay three fares at times when I take public transportation from my neighborhood in Queens to Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn - subway to LIRR to subway again. Cost - $16.50 each way. Absurd.
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As for tolls, how about eliminating them altogether except for rush hour Manhattan traffic? I drive most days from Queens to Brooklyn and don't pay a penny in tolls while co-workers of mine with shorter mileage commutes must pay daily tolls. How is it fair that we both use roads daily but since my co-worker lives in the Bronx she must pay tolls while I drive free? It's time to end the artificial barriers between boroughs by elimintaing or vastly reducing tolls and replacing the revenue with higher resgistraion and other fees on all vehicles so the cost of our infrastructure is not laid so heavily on those unfortunate enough to have to cross an MTA bridge just to get to their jobs and is instead spread more evenly across all drivers and even perhaps revenue from all New Yorkers who benefit from our road infrastructure even if they don't own a vehicle.
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What would bring far more riders onto commuter rail lines is a free continuation of their trip onto the subway. It's not so much the cost of a monthly ticket that discourages people from using the LIRR as it is the fact that many need to pay for a monthly Metrocard as well. Of course if this was actually done LIRR stations in places like Jamaica, Kew Gardens, and Forest Hills would be overrun with new customers seeking to avoid the delay plagued terrible service on the IND lines (E,F,M,R). But it's just this lack of free transfer that puts me in my car every day to get to my office in Sheepshead Bay from Kew Gardens. I can take an LIRR train from Kew Gardens to Jamaica, then from Jamaica to Atlantic Avenue, then switch to the B train there. (The subway ride by itself from KG to BK is far too long to be considered). But to do this I'd have to buy two monthly tickets (Metrocard and LIRR) and the cost of that is what keeps me in my car - far too expensive.
So while lowering the price of city tickets and making them 7 days a week will be nice for occasional commuters and day-trippers it will do nothing for regular 5 day a week commuters who will still drive like me or take the subway.
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One thing that could be done to improve the terrible IND Queens service (E,F,M,R) and which would cost very little would be to revert back to the days when the E and F went through the 53rd Street tunnel. Because the F now travels through the 63rd Street tunnel and the M goes through 53rd Street this requires the F to switch tracks before Queens Plaza westbound for the 63rd Street tunnel and for the M to switch onto the tracks for the 53rd Street tunnel at Queens Plaza. These track switches, east and westbound, cause delays all the time with the E delayed at Queens Plaza waiting for the M to switch in front of it or the M waiting for the E to clear the track. Westbound the F must slow down significantly in order to switch to the 63rd Street tunnel and eastbound the E or F is delayed when they both meet at the same time and compete for the eastbound express track east of Queens Plaza. If they would just revert to the F going to 53rd and the M going to 63rd these switch caused delays could be totally averted. I've seen this recommended on other transit sites and I think it would help improve service on these lines a lot.
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Woodlawn Boulevard?? It's called Woodhaven Boulevard.
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