Lawmakers: LIRR should not hike fares until service improves

Republican elected officials are calling on the MTA to hold off on a planned fare increase next year for the LIRR until railroad service improves.

At a news conference at the Long Island Rail Road’s Bethpage station, a group of GOP state lawmakers called for a stop to the planned 4 percent increase next year and proposed instead the creation of a "commuter fund" that the railroad could draw upon — but only if it achieved specific performance goals.

The proposal comes as commuters have endured a litany of delays, cancellations and other challenges that have contributed to the LIRR being on pace to having its worst annual on-time performance in 19 years.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority recently confirmed plans to increase fares and tolls by 4 percent early next year — the seventh fare increase since 2008.

"In no other business would you continue to have to pay more as quality and service declines," said Sen. Elaine Phillips (R-Flower Hill), who authored the Senate version of the proposed bill. “The Long Island Rail Road must be held accountable for poor service. And that’s what this legislation does.”

Under the proposal, the state would take $60 million from litigation settlements with banks and use it to create a fund that the LIRR could access if it achieved its on-time performance goal of 94 percent. Through July, 90.4 percent of LIRR trains were on time, statistics show.

The bill would also require that the LIRR see a 5 percent increase in its annual customer service satisfaction rating to tap the fund. When the LIRR last released its customer satisfaction rating results in March, it scored 77 percent — its lowest grade since the railroad began using a percentage scoring system in 2009.

In a statement, MTA spokesman Jon Weinstein said the agency is investing $6 billion to “completely modernize the Long Island Rail Road for riders,” including through the construction of a second track on the LIRR’s Main Line in Suffolk and a third track in Nassau.

“The MTA Board makes the final determination on fare policy, but to be clear, we are in a period of the greatest investment in the railroad and the Long Island economy that the MTA has ever made,” Weinstein said.

MTA officials have said they need the money generated from regular fare increases to remain financially stable and avoid future budget deficits. But Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-East Northport) said that even without the fare increase or another funding source the MTA has “enough money right now” to reverse the LIRR’s failing service.

“I don’t think it’s underfunding. I think it’s where you put the resources,” Flanagan said. “We’re telling them, do not approve a fare hike under any circumstances."

Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) called the Republican proposal, which he noted comes seven weeks before Election Day, “incredibly cynical and rich.”

“During the Senate GOP’s reign in Albany, they have barely lifted a finger to help LIRR riders,” Kaminsky said. “Fixing the LIRR will take a lot more than politics as usual.”

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.