LIRR Fare Hike Looms To Stave Off Cancellations, MTA Says

With a budget crisis looming, the MTA said it is going to be increasing fares across the board, which means Long Island commuters are going to have to pay more to get to work.

The MTA cited projected declines in fare and tax revenue, as well as costs associated with modernizing its services, as the main reasons it was facing a budget hole. The MTA said that the projected fare revenue would be about $1 billion lower from 2018 to 2022 than was initially predicted in 2017. Tax revenue is also going to be $580 million less than anticipated, the agency said.

To offset those holes, the travel agency is raising fares and making cuts. Most of the changes are affecting New York City's subways and buses, but Long Island commuters are going to feel the sting, too.

The Long Island Rail Road will see an increase on monthly and weekly ticket prices of up to 3.85 percent. The max increase for tickets would be $15 for monthly tickets and $5.75 for weeklies. Monthly tickets that already cost $500 or more wouldn't be affected.

One-way ticket prices are going to be increased by about 6 percent.

If you're considering driving into the city to avoid the increased fares, you're out of luck, too. Tolls on all of the bridges and tunnels would also be increased. E-ZPass users would see an increase of 4 percent, while tolls-by-mail and cars without an E-ZPass would see tolls rise by 11.8 percent. That means tolls for E-ZPass cars would rise to $5.99 and up to $9.50 for everyone else.

The MTA is also considering instead raising E-ZPass tolls by 8 percent, or 46 cents. The MTA says the increase would raise an additional $55 million per year that would be used to finance capital projects on the bridges and tunnels.

The fare increases are not set in stone yet. The MTA will be holding meetings to get input from the public. The Long Island meeting will be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Long Island, located at 598 Broad Hollow Road in Melville, on Thursday, Nov. 29 at 5:30 p.m.

In addition, there will be two satellite hearings on Long Island where members of the public can provide testimony in writing or via video for review by the MTA Board members.

The first satellite hearing will be held at the Ronkonkoma LIRR station, located on Hawkins Avenue, on Nov. 28 from 7 to 10 a.m. There will be a second satellite hearing at the Hicksville LIRR station, located on Newbridge Road, on Dec. 3 from 7 to 10 a.m.

Photo: Patch