Service cuts on track for LIRR

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of July 3, 2009 / 11 Tammuz 5769

Riders of the Long Island Rail Road should take advantage of the personal customer service while they still can. Beginning on Tuesday, Aug. 18, ticket stations will close at 20 LIRR stations — including Woodmere, Cedarhurst and Hewlett — in a move that is expected to save $2.2 million.

These changes are part of a larger cost-reduction plan being implemented by the MTA and the LIRR. Other service cuts include the elimination of weekend service on the West Hempstead branch, and the reduction of off-peak Port Washington branch service from half-hourly to hourly.

“Recent assistance from Albany allowed the MTA to reduce the size of the average fare increase from 26 percent to 10 percent,” explained Salvatore Arena, assistant director of media relations for the LIRR .

“However, the financial package did not address all of the LIRR’s funding needs. As a result, some cost-reductions must go forward and we had to make some difficult choices.”

Tickets windows with low ticket sales volume was pinpointed as an area in which staff could be reduced, without affecting a large amount of customers. The ticket stations in the Five Towns “are among the lowest ticket selling stations of the 51 towns where we have employees selling tickets,” Arena told The Jewish Star.

Customers will now need to purchase tickets at machines that will be available around the clock seven days a week. “LIRR ticket machines currently have a 97.9 percent reliability/ availability rate,” Arena pointed out. He also noted that over 60 LIRR stations have been operating without clerks for several years, and, like the local Five Towns stations, are equipped with ticket machines.

For those who may be unfamiliar with buying tickets through the machine, the LIRR will offer customer education to assist travelers during the transition period.  Riders are also encouraged to buy their tickets in advance through the LIRR’s Mail&Ride service and the WebTicket service, which mails tickets within five business days, at no extra charge for postage. Most WebTickets are discounted by five perecent off the station price, and monthly tickets by two percent.

Though each of the affected stations has two ticket machines, Arena acknowledged that they are not foolproof. “Passengers who buy higher-priced tickets onboard are entitled to a refund of the difference, if both ticket machines are out service at the same time,” he said.