Northeast Queens LIRR Commuter Discount Won't Start Until 2020

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — A promised monthly pass discount for Long Island Rail Road commuters in northeast Queens won't start until next year.

LIRR commuters in northeast Queens are supposed to get a 20% discount on their monthly pass as part of the 2019-2020 state budget passed on April 1 — but the discount won't take effect until spring 2020, a spokesman for Assemblyman Edward C. Braunstein told Patch on Tuesday.

Lawmakers created the discount to offset the cost of congestion pricing for commuters living in the outer boroughs. Congestion pricing, which refers to a toll on drivers entering Manhattan's core below 61st Street, isn't expected to start until December 2020 — months after the LIRR discount would take effect.

The MTA hasn't decided whether the discount will apply to student tickets, the spokesman added.

On April 3, state lawmakers announced the new monthly pass discount for commuters who take the LIRR to and from the stations in Auburndale, Bayside, Broadway, Douglaston, Flushing-Main Street, Little Neck and Murray Hill.

Funding for the fare discount would come from the state legislature's Outer Borough Transit Fund, launched last year to aid New Yorkers living in areas with limited public transit options, according to Braunstein and Assemblywoman Nily Rozic.

A commuter traveling to and from Penn Station would save almost $50 a month with the new discount, Braunstein and Rozic said. A significant number of northeast Queens LIRR commuters pay at least $200 for a monthly pass, according to Braunstein.

"Relief in the outer boroughs is long overdue for Northeast Queens transit riders who are far too familiar with increasing fares and travel times," Rozic said earlier this month.

This story has been updated to provide further context about congestion pricing.