LIRR needs to listen to customers on ticket rules

Listen to your customers.

That's the message for the Long Island Rail Road in the wake of new survey results showing customer satisfaction sunk to 73% in the spring, down from 80% last fall. 

At the heart of their dissatisfaction: new ticket policies that severely restrict the railroad's ticket validation and activation.

This time, the customer is right. The ticketing rules are confusing and challenging to navigate. During a recent Metropolitan Transportation Authority committee meeting, it was clear that the activation rules confuse even some MTA Board members. If they don't understand the parameters, how can they expect that riders follow them?

MTA and LIRR officials, however, dismissed customer concerns, suggesting that most of the dissatisfaction comes from those who've been fined for not activating their tickets properly and noting that fine-receivers were overrepresented in the survey. One official said those "who are not playing by the rules" are the "least happy" riders.

But some of those "who are not playing by the rules" may simply not understand them — or may be unable to buy or activate their tickets properly thanks to the system's complexity and rigidness, unreliable Wi-Fi or their own personal limitations. Those individuals are not always bad actors, since 97% of fares were collected in 2025, and they shouldn't be treated broadly as such.

And those who've received fines certainly aren't the only unhappy ones. 

Still, ending fare evasion is a legitimate, important goal, and targeting those who are the LIRR's worst offenders is appropriate. Preserving revenue is especially important as the MTA heads into 2027 facing a $297 million deficit. But that deficit also illustrates the importance of incentivizing and preserving ridership. If the railroad maintains unrealistic policies that anger customers, and then dismisses rider complaints, that's going to lead to less revenue — not more.

Blaming the riders for a policy that penalizes those riders, not just with fines but with unnecessarily complex procedures just to ride the train, is not helpful. Instead, the LIRR and the MTA should take customer satisfaction results more seriously and find solutions.

LIRR President Rob Free told the editorial board that he takes customer feedback — including survey results — seriously. Now, he needs to show it. Revising arduous ticket buying and activation policies, extending the periods during which a ticket is valid, and providing thoughtful exceptions would help. Focusing on seniors, families with small children and those who are disabled is key; those riders especially deserve better.

The MTA should stop defending a flawed policy. Instead, examine other commuter railroads for best practices, and find new, practical ways to manage fare evasion without hurting Long Island's riders. They're the ones who are unhappy — and they have good reason. The MTA and LIRR must do more to regain those riders' support.