By Gina Martinez
MTA’s new app eTix is about to simplify your commute on the Long Island Rail Road.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the new mobile app last week. It will allow Metro-North and LIRR commuters to purchase tickets at any time, and will include a range of other perks. The free app was originally scheduled for release at the end of 2016, but the MTA decided to do an accelerated rollout and now it will be available to all riders by the end of the summer.
Currently, eTix is only available for riders on the LIRR Port Washington Branch and Metro-North Hudson Line. The week of July 25, it will be available on the Metro-North Harlem line, and the week of Aug. 22 the rest the LIRR and the Metro-North New Haven Line will be able to utilize the app.
Cuomo is hopeful that eTix will make New Yorkers’ commute easier.
“This new app puts riders first by eliminating the ticket line and helping New Yorkers and visitors get where they need to go with more freedom and convenience than ever before,” he said. “We will continue to create a 21st-century transit system that embraces innovation to ensure that we are building a stronger, more competitive New York.”
The app allows commuters to check the train schedule, keep up with service status and purchase tickets without waiting in line. The launch was a response to a successful field test where 150 customers and conductors monitored the app’s performance. Some 92 percent of the participants said they were satisfied and 94 percent said that they were very likely to download the free app.
The MTA eTix app was developed by Masabi, Ltd. The company was also behind the electronic mobile-ticketing programs for MBTA Commuter Rail in Boston, NICE Bus on Long Island, and Metrolink in Los Angeles.
As a result of the positive feedback, MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas Prendergast made sure the app was available as soon as possible.
“Gov. Cuomo has asked us to make this app broadly available as quickly as possible, and we’ve responded with an aggressive rollout schedule that will make MTA eTix available to all LIRR and Metro-North riders before the end of August,” he said “With the launch of this new app riders can buy their tickets wherever and whenever they want, and that means more choice and greater convenience.”
