The cost of the race The LIRR rises again

All Long Islanders love complaining and complaining – how much does it cost to travel on Long Island Rail Road. Well, the MTA's board wants to make sure Long Islanders are serious about this tradition, with the board approving price increases at a meeting on Wednesday morning.

LIRR ticket price increases, starting April 21, will vary based on distance traveled and time. Weekly and monthly ticket price increases will be capped at 3.85%. The maximum increase for monthly and weekly tickets will be $ 15 and $ 5.75 respectively. Monthly ticket prices of $ 460 or more will not increase. The price of one-way tickets will generally increase by 4%, with increases of more than 6% being capped at 50 cents maximum.

MetroCard bonuses will also disappear next month as part of the rate increase plan. The plan maintains the base fare for the subway and buses at $ 2.75, but will eliminate the 5% bonus for the purchase of at least two trips.

Unlimited MetroCards prices will increase next month from $ 32 to $ 33 for seven days and from $ 121 to $ 127 for 30 days.

The board approved the plan after taking an extra month to review alternatives to the two-year toll and toll increases since 2009. This delay cost the beleaguered MTA $ 30 million. will never compensate, said Fernando Ferrer, acting president of the MTA.

The plan is "painful in some areas, but it's fair and it keeps us afloat, and that's an important thing," Ferrer said.

.@mta Acting President Freddy Ferrer, on the new rate hike: "It's hard for a lot of people," he said. "But it was not really an aggression." # NBC4NY pic.twitter.com/W5pwlotLQV
– Andrew Siff (@ andrewsiff4NY) February 27, 2019

Increases were needed to avoid financial problems at the MTA, officials said. The agency would face a budget deficit of $ 1.6 billion if planned increases were not implemented this year and in 2021, said the director general of finance, Robert Foran, in November.

The approval came after Governor Andrew Cuomo – who controls the MTA – and Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled a joint plan to increase the agency's revenue by more than $ 1.4 billion. per year through congestion pricing and taxes on marijuana sales and the Internet.

With Noah Manskar report