Gender Identification Change Comes To Monthly Metro-North Rail Passes

Metro-North is doing away with its long-standing practice of gender identification on monthly commuter rail passes, and Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy and Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman are praising the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Metro-North Railroad's decision.

"All members of our community deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and we should not be using antiquated gender norms as a method of personal identification," said Malloy in a statement. "The rights of the transgender community are under attack at the national level and we will not stand by silently as their rights are rolled back. I want to thank the MTA and Metro-North for taking this positive and proactive step forward in making all passengers feel welcome."

Added Wyman, "I commend the MTA for their forward thinking and responsiveness. These are exactly the steps that, when taken in aggregate, make us more inclusive as a people and a nation."

For years, the monthly passes carried the gender of buyer, in part to stop people from sharing it with others, which is prohibited. The monthly passes are priced with significant discounts compared to full-priced single-trip fares and designed for use by one individual throughout the month.

According to Malloy, Metro-North has now taken steps to eliminate the practice of asking customers for their gender. The lead time to issue new employee guidelines, reprogram ticket vending machines and purchase new ticket stock required a phased approach.

The first step, begun in August, was to instruct crew members and ticket agents to not identify customers as male or female and not ask customers to select a gender. This month, ticket vending machines are being reprogrammed to eliminate the gender question. By January, new ticket stock paper will be introduced that removes the preprinted boxes for male and female.

Additionally, Governor Malloy will direct executive agencies to review policies that may include outdated gender identification practices.

Photo credit: MTA.info