During what Governor Andrew Cuomo recently dubbed the “Summer of Hell” for Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) commuters, Queens riders can take advantage of some discounts to compensate for their transit woes, the MTA announced on Tuesday.
Last week, the MTA announced its revised summer schedule to accommodate the much-needed construction work on Penn Station tracks, which will impact approximately 9,600 customers. The new schedule eliminates or reroutes a number of rush hour trains into and out of Penn Station as the work commences.
Today, the corporation announced that the LIRR will offer, on average, a 25 percent fare reduction for all passengers traveling to Queens’ Hunterspoint Avenue and Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal during Amtrak’s repair work at Penn Station. All LIRR riders will also be given a free transfer during the morning rush to New York City subways at the two stations.
The discount will be in effect from July 10 until the completion of repair work and applies to monthly, weekly and daily tickets.
Discounted monthly tickets are available beginning today, June 20, via ticket windows, ticket vending machines and mail and ride. Discounted tickets will be available via MTA eTix starting on July 1.
“We believe that this move will mitigate the inconvenience that our customers may experience, and have the added benefit of drawing customers away from Penn Station while Amtrak performs repair work,” said MTA Interim Director Ronnie Hakim.
For northeast Queens riders, three evening rush hour trains will be eliminated in the Port Washington Branch’s new summer schedule, effective July 10, it was announced last week.
In the wake of that announcement, local lawmakers spoke out, stating that the LIRR needs to provide more transit options for northeast Queens riders when summer track work starts.
For more information about the summer schedule or the construction plan, visit the MTA website.
