Senate Bill S4412

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4412

SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public authorities law, in relation to tickets
purchased for the Long Island Rail Road and the Metro-North Commuter
Railroad Company

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is for the Metropolitan Transportation Authori-
ty to develop and maintain an intra-city combination ticket valid
between peak and off-peak trains on the LIRR and Metro-North commuter
railroads

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 adds a new section 1266-n to the public authorities law
requiring Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North develop a lower cost,
intra-city combination ticket valid for transfers between the Long
Island Railroad and Metro-North.
              

Section 2 is the effective date 30 days after the bill becomes law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Today, the CityTicket offers intra-city travel for $5 off-peak and $7
peak, but on either the LIRR or Metro-North. While suburban riders can
transfer from one railroad to another at Grand Central for a flat Combo
Ticket fare of $8 on top of their LIRR or Metro-North fare, irrespective
of their destination, intra-city New York City riders must purchase two
separate CityTicketsl8. Oftentimes riders using TVMs pay an even higher
fare because the best fare available, in this case the CityTicket, is
difficult to find on the TVMs.

This is a missed opportunity to encourage faster travel between points
far distances in the city, like the future Penn Access station in
Parkchester and Jamaica Station, that would be inconvenient and time-
consuming to travel between on other modes of transit. Today's fare
structure is inequitable for New York City riders who pay more per mile
than suburban riders. The decoupling of OMNY from the railroads' payment
system in favor of contracts with Masabi and Scheidt & Bachmann brings
with it the ability to create a backend connection between LIRR and
Metro-North ticketing. This backend connection can at last unify and
improve railroad fare payment and realize OMNY's aspiration, "One Metro
New York", even without Cubic as the railroads' vendor of choice. When
the MTA's new ticket vending machines and software are operable, a
CityTicket that permits travel on both railroads across a unified City
Zone for both railroads should be introduced. Such a ticket should also
provide discounts for low-income, senior, disabled, and Medicare-eligi-
ble intra-city riders to align with the rest of the system.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Expected stimulus to the MTA.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become law.