LIRR ridership increasing since start of Congestion Pricing

Somehow, it’s officially been one month since the MTA introduced its new congestion pricing program- which, if you don’t know, essentially tolls anyone entering Manhattan below 60th St a small fee, similar to EZpass. Data shows that 30,000 fewer vehicles on an average weekday enter the toll zone.

Long Island Rail Road commuters have noticed more people on trains, particularly at certain stations. While Metropolitan Transit Authority officials hoped and expected for these new tolls to push more commuters out of their car and onto the trains, however the overall 13% systemwide ridership increase didn’t beat December’s 15% increase, suggesting Congestion Pricing isn’t the only thing to credit.

LIRR president Rob Free said this: “I think it’s too early to make any direct correlation as to ridership gains being specific to congestion relief”. While he believes the tolling plan could be one of several factors, it seams he thinks it’s a mix of factors.

MTA officials have pointed to the fact that there’s plenty of room in the transit system for that increased ridership, noting that many LIRR trains operate well-below there capacity.

An interesting point of this is where these ridership jumps are located, with the largest jumps being located at the New Hyde Park and Garden City stations in Nassau County, and the Ronkonkoma station in Suffolk. MTA figures show that ridership at New Hyde Park has climbed 22% since January, and that Garden City has climbed 19 percent, compared to December’s increase of only 3%. Other stations across the network have also seen ridership gains including more western stations such as Douglaston and Woodmere.

Credit: Metropolitan Transit Authority

According to Newsday, who interviewed passengers at New Hyde Park station recently, passengers noted that they saw more passengers out on the platform, and on the train in recent weeks. 

Another factor that could be putting more people onto LIRR trains is the ongoing A train shutdown that offers Far Rockaway riders a $2.75 discounted faire into Manhattan during the four-month shutdown for repairs.

Personally, I’ve noticed additional crowding, especially on the Hempstead Branch.

Now, I know the 5:00pm rush hour isn’t known for undercrowding, however, the fact that the branches hit hardest this month seam to be the Hempstead, Long Beach, and Oyster Bay branches, branches not known to be too crowded.

‘Room for everybody’

Not only have the railroads experienced ridership surges though, as many subway lines and express bus routes have also experienced congestion-pricing related ridership increases. Addressing concerns about toll-related potential for overcrowding, MTA Chairman Janno Lieber has said “there’s room for everybody”. He also told reporters that “if every one of the 130,000 commuters who drive into Manhattan everyday took the Subway, bus, or Long Island Rail Road or whatever, instead, it would be a drop in the bucket”.

But, still, it’s not like LIRR riders have experienced this level of ridership recently, though. After plummeting substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic, LIRR ridership was able to rebound to about 86% of what it was in 2019– a year in which the LIRR carried 91 million riders, the most in 70 years. A lot of the credit for ridership not rebounding to its full potential can be given to the fact that many people started working from home.

LIRR President Robert Free, with the goal of extinguishing concerns about potential overcrowding, said that since the opening of Grand Central Madison, the LIRR dramatically increased the amount of trains. Free also noted that during peak periods, the LIRR operates at about 60% capacity. However, in January, a small handful of peak trains operated at 90% or above. While many believe these ridership increases are mainly thanks to congestion pricing, Rob Free believes it’s also important to factor in the testament to the LIRR’s increased performance, which includes growing customer satisfaction scores and a 95.6% on-time performance (OTP) in 2024. 

Apparently, despite so much criticism, the MTA’s congestion pricing plan has been so successful that they have begun hearing from officials off other cities that they are interested in implementing their own plan. Still, that doesn’t necessarily mean New York’s plan is here to stay, as it faces huge backlash and opposition, including more lawsuits. Even our US president, Donald Trump, has even vocally opposed the plan.

Now that we are less then a month away from the new timetables, my hope is that the LIRR will analyze this data, and try to make the best improvements to the new timetables. At this point, only time will tell.