By Michael V. Cusenza
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board on Tuesday approved pilot programs to make transit a more attractive option as Congestion Pricing looms.
The first program is to increase service frequency on six popular express bus routes from Brooklyn and Staten Island to the Congestion Relief Zone in Manhattan; the second is to offer a 10-percent reduction on the price of monthly commuter rail tickets within NYC.
Both programs are designed to appeal to people in the “outer boroughs” who might consider switching to transit from driving into the Manhattan Central Business District.
In March, the board approved Congestion Pricing rates. The polarizing program launches on June 30. Passenger vehicles and small commercial vehicles—sedans, SUVs, pick-up trucks, and small vans—paying with a valid E-ZPass will be charged $15 during the day and $3.75 at night to enter the congestion-relief zone in Manhattan below 60th Street. They will be charged no more than once a day.
The pilot programs announced this week are funded by the Outer Borough Transportation Account, created in 2018 by the State Legislature to provide $50 million per year to improve transportation in Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island in association with Congestion Pricing.
The express bus route service increases will begin on June 30 and were strategically selected to grow ridership. They cover peak period service on the BM2, BM5, SIM1C, SIM4C, SIM23 and SIM24.
The commuter rail monthly ticket discounts would begin in July. They come on top of existing 10-percent discounts put in place systemwide on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad in March 2022 to encourage post-pandemic ridership recovery. They complement the expansion of CityTicket—highly discounted one-way tickets valid for travel within the city—from weekend-only to all off-peak trains in March 2022 and to peak trains in August 2023 to boost travel within Gotham on the railroads.
The LIRR has 24 stations in Queens and Brooklyn, and Metro-North has 13 stations in the Bronx, as well as a stop in Harlem. CityTicket will also be valid for travel to and from Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station. Metro-North service will expand to the East Bronx following the completion of Penn Station Access, which will add four new Metro-North stations at Hunts Point, Parkchester/Van Nest, Morris Park, and Co-Op City. Gov. Kathy Hochul and MTA leadership broke ground on the project in December 2022.
The MTA estimates the cost of the 10-percent discount to monthly tickets will be $4 million per year, and the cost of the enhanced express bus service will be $883,000 per year. These costs will be totally paid for by the Outer Borough Transportation Account, which is also funding toll rebates announced by Hochul in 2023 for Queens residents who use the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge and for Bronx residents who use the Henry Hudson Bridge.
“By boosting the frequency of express buses we’re establishing faster and more reliable service from the outer boroughs into Manhattan; moreover, additional fare reductions on top of existing 10-percent discounts on commuter rails will make them an even more attractive and feasible option for hard-working New Yorkers,” State Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) said.
