LIRR ticket policy, customers' interests

Conductors should be checking tickets

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has said that a big reason for limiting the time to activate tickets is to prevent riders from having valid tickets for future rides if the train conductor does not come around to check tickets [“LIRR customers right on tickets,” Editorial, July 31]. Why is that the customers’ fault? What is the primary job of these well-paid conductors if not to check tickets?

— Peter Block, Roslyn Heights

Riders’ interests should take priority

MTA Board member Neal Zuckerman epitomizes the agency’s entitlement and ineptitude by claiming that fare increases are the only lever at the organization’s disposal to achieve fiscal stability [“After LIRR strike, MTA facing $300M deficit in ’27,” News, July 30]. The MTA does not need to allow more than 800 employees to accrue over $100,000 in overtime pay, tolerate fare evasion, or acquiesce to exorbitant union demands. The MTA simply decides to pass on costs to customers, as opposed to becoming more efficient or improving their product. Voters must prioritize electing politicians who will pledge to appoint MTA Board members who will drive innovation, and represent the interests of the customers and taxpayers above those of the MTA employees.

— Cleveland Castillo, Cold Spring Harbor

I wouldn’t be surprised to read an article five years from now announcing the death of the Long Island Rail Road. For decades, the railroad has struggled with rising labor costs, costly maintenance, fare hikes, and recurring reports of waste, fraud, and theft. Now it’s facing another massive deficit. At what point do we admit the current model is unsustainable?

The world is changing. More people work from home. Autonomous vehicles and drone taxis are moving from science fiction to reality. Technology is giving commuters more choices while the LIRR continues to rely on a century-old business model that grows more expensive every year.

Instead of asking taxpayers and riders to absorb higher fares and larger subsidies, leaders should be rethinking how mass transit fits into the future. Unless dramatic changes are made, children may one day point to the steel rails crossing Long Island and ask, “What were those for?”

The LIRR has been an essential part of our region’s history, but history alone won’t guarantee its future.

— Bill McDermott, Long Beach