(Newsday.com posted the following article by Joie Tyrrell on February 9.)
NEW YORK — For commuter Kristine Parrinelli, who travels almost four hours a day on the Long Island Rail Road, raising fares by up to 33 percent could price her right off the train.
She might carpool instead. Or even look for a job closer to her Setauket home. And she wants the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to know where she stands.
“We knew … [a fare increase] was inevitable,” said Parrinelli, 24, who works in publishing in Manhattan. “But I didn’t think the proposals would be so high.”
That’s why Parrinelli and a handful of her fellow commuters aboard the Port Jefferson line have collected in recent weeks about 500 signatures against what they say are whopping fare increases proposed by the MTA.
The group plans to submit the petitions at one of two public hearings on Long Island that start this week. The first hearing is scheduled for tomorrow at the Student Center at Hofstra University at 4 p.m. Another hearing will be held Tuesday at 4 p.m. at the Student Activities Center at Stony Brook University.
“They shouldn’t do more than 10 percent without removing trains, reducing cleaning staff and everything else,” said commuter Ted Rallis, 54, who signed up to speak at the Stony Brook hearing. “Their ridership has gone up dramatically with no increase in service so they are collecting more money than in the past.”
Commuters could see fare increases of 10, 20 or even 33 percent for rail tickets under three financial plans being weighed by the MTA, which also could boost subway and Long Island Bus fares from $1.50 to $2 to close a $1-billion budget hole. In an attempt to gather public input on three fare hike options, the MTA has solicited comments on its Web site and is holding public hearings throughout its service area.
The board is expected to vote on the fare in March with an increase in place possibly by April. MTA officials have said there will be an increase but they have not yet determined how much. A jump of 10 percent would mean service cuts across the LIRR, including eliminating 22 trains and closing some ticket offices. Subway and bus fares would rise to $1.75.
Raising fares by 20 percent and the subway and bus prices to $2 would mean minimal service interruptions. Increasing fares by 33 percent and subway and bus fares to $2 would give the MTA millions in surplus funds.
Some commuters say they understand the need for a fare increase. Fares have remained steady since 1995. But they say the MTA should try and keep the jump as low as possible.
“If the MTA makes a really airtight case that they absolutely need the money, then we would go along with a slight increase but no service cuts,” said Beverly Dolinsky, executive director of the LIRR Commuter’s Council, a riders’ advocacy group. “We think it is more important not to have any service cuts and disinvestment in the railroad.”
But Lisa Tyson, director of the Long Island Progressive Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy group in Massapequa, said that an increase in bus and railroad fares could force some commuters to drive or find other jobs. She plans to attend the hearings.
“Increasing the fares is killing the working people on Long Island,” Tyson said. “This is going to be their last straw.”
Fearing that Long Island bus riders would be overshadowed by railroad concerns, state Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) had asked the MTA to hold separate hearings on Long Island for bus riders and rail commuters, but the authority declined.
The MTA is also proposing reducing the monthly ticket discounts in some parts of eastern Suffolk County by 1.5 percent and cutting discounts on weekly and off-peak ticket prices Islandwide. The MTA also could increase the penalty for buying a ticket aboard a train to $3, a dollar increase.
And, the authority is proposing raising tolls on MTA bridges and tunnels by up to 50 cents. In the city, some 177 token booths could be closed.
MTA officials have said they will take all the comments into account before making a decision. But some critics remain skeptical.
The public hearings are “for people to vent,” said Peter Haynes, president of the Long Island Rail Road Commuters Campaign, a riders’ advocacy group. “And the MTA sits there and nods their heads and the MTA says they have done their public hearings and go off and do what they want to do.”