Thoughts about the recent service changes, 2011 fare hikes
For Metro-North commuters, we have survived the service changes that were enacted three weeks ago. June 21st marked the cancellations of a few trains, and most, if not all, ten car trains were reduced to eight cars. Both of my trains, in the morning and evening, were ten car trains. According to Metro-North, the trains had enough seats for all of the passengers, it was just a matter of whether the passengers wanted to use them. And you know I am referring to that hated middle seat. For the first few days I witnessed many people choose to stand in the aisle, preferring standing than sitting in the middle. Although many have begun to suck it up, there are still those that complain to the conductors, or make it difficult for people entering and exiting the train by standing in front of the doors.
In my opinion, it is about time to get used to it. Complaining to the conductors accomplishes nothing. But for those of us riding on the Harlem Line (and probably the Hudson), we have it pretty good. We’re not the transit system, we didn’t have any lines or routes cancelled. I’ve been on trains where every seat was taken, and the entire aisle was filled with people. Literally packed in like sardines in a can. But that incident was a fluke, caused by a broken down and ultimately cancelled train. These are not our normal trains.
I am probably going to get shit for this comment, but we also aren’t the New Haven Line. The New Haven Line has been plagued with issues and delays recently, from a minor derailment in Stamford, to yesterday’s debacle where all four tracks were shut down outside of Greenwich. The possible cause of the issue was the recent heat wave – causing the catenary wires to sag. In many of these situations riders are suggested to attempt to get to the Harlem Line. Riders with New Haven Line monthly passes have been showing up on Harlem Line trains, hoping to at least get to White Plains to transfer to a BeeLine bus, or get picked up. The changes three weeks ago were not that bad. We still have it pretty good…
But then again, the talk has already begun about what will happen in 2011. Changes that could bring around a 7.5% fare hike. While again, most of this affects the subway: a $1 service change for Metro Cards, and a cap on unlimited tickets. But the major concern for Metro-North riders will be the considered elimination of off-peak fares. Although commuters that buy monthly or weekly tickets would not be affected, one-way, round-trip and ten trip tickets may cost more. Metro-North has been trying hard to encourage ridership for reasons other than going to work, most especially with their Train to the Game service. It is these riders, and weekend riders, that will be most effected by the change. If you’re riding from the terminus of the Harlem Line, Wassaic, the elimination of off-peak service would cost you $10.50 for a round trip ticket, for a total price of $40.50. Riders from Southeast will end up paying $7.50 more, for a total of $30 dollars on a round trip ticket. And of course, this is if fares stay the same. If they are increased by the estimated 7.5%, that means round trip from Wassaic would cost $43.50, and from Southeast $32.25.
Tags: derailment, fares, new haven line, service changes, southeast, wassaic, white plains
July 11th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
You’re right, you guys definitely could have had it worse. Not to sound like an ass, but the service cuts, the fare increase, and the elimination of Off-Peak could have happened all at the same time, like what happened to NJ Transit in May.
I’ve always wondered why they never charged a small fee for MetroCards. I always see people with $0.25 on their card get a brand new card instead of refilling the old one (and half the time throwing the old card on the floor). Maybe charging for the card will make people not lazy?
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Emily Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
No, I don’t think you sound like an ass. Getting rid of off-peak fares really doesn’t affect the commuters, it is the weekend people that are really subjected to it.
I personally am not bothered by the fee for MetroCards. I always refill the card that I have. I don’t think that current monthly metrocards can be refilled though, so that would be an issue that would need to be looked at.
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July 12th, 2010 at 8:43 am
I caught the elimination of off peak fares buried in a ny post article on the $1 metro card surchage. This is the unfortunate side of our transit being run by a government agency, everything is run to minimize losses rather than maximize revenue. Rather than simply jacking up our fares every time they see a shortfall in revenue in the future, why not try things to make the train more appealing to more customers? I.E. more tie ins with NYC attractions and discounted rail fare, better promotion targeted at new customers, or even some simple things like a quiet car! For the amount of people that gripe about people on cell phones, this would be a welcome addition to Metro North. institute a clearly labeled quiet car like AMTRAK has, have the announcements disabled (since they appear on the screen) . Heck the quiet car could even be a source of revenue! Make talking on your phone in the quiet car a $100 fine the MTA Police can write tickets for! (Well ok maybe that’s drastic, but it’d be nice…)
I took a trip into NYC with my girlfriend this weekend. My Pawling to WP pass meant I only paid $14 round trip, and her ticket was $22.50 for a SE to GCT round trip. If the off peak fares go away (I would advocate to at least keep a “weekend” fare), this trip would have run me almost $55. For less than that I can drive my car to the vicinity of Columbia university, get there much faster and without people insisting on sharing their phone conversations with me, and not be tied down to a schedule of when I can go home. I felt like my current fare was high, but if off peak fares are eliminated, I’ll only be using the train to commute to/from work; Metro North might as well go and stick “Commuter” back in its name if that happens…
Sorry for the rant, but this really has my cookies frosted….
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Emily Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Haha, you are exactly right with the stick Commuter back in the name. Metro-North has really been trying to rebrand itself, and getting rid of the Commuter part of its name is an early example of it. They’ve tried to attract non commuters with all the trains to the game, and the new train to the track… but they are not going to entice many more people if the non-commuters get stuck paying more.
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July 17th, 2010 at 9:34 am
Getting rid of off-peak fares will be epic disaster. I just love how the suits in the MTA come up with any way possible to suck more people out of the public. They are the ones who caused this mess along with our politicians so why do (we) the riding public have to suffer? Why is the MTA workers in Madsion Ave getting free newspapers? When it comes time for employee cuts they always target the lower level people (obviously). We cannot fire our guys in the suits.
Only way is for the public to take a stand and show these scumbags who is in charge. Meaning millions of commuters should bring the MTA system to a standstill.
Emily also the M7s cannot run more then 8 cars. Usually they’re either 6 or 8 car sets. The older sets (M3a) can run 10 or 12 cars sets. Actually the 12 car set is usually always parked in the Croton-Harmon yard on the weekends.
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Emily Reply:
July 17th, 2010 at 5:53 pm
The train I ride in the morning and evening is usually the same equipment… the older m3′s. And that was ten cars, and now eight. If you were on an m7 you probably wouldn’t notice the difference with the cuts. But I think an 8 car m3 can still handle more passengers than an 8 car m7, because the m7 has the larger bathrooms, right?
And yeah, I think that always seems to happen, get rid of the lower ranked people, and keep the higher ups. We always joke at work that after all the cuts we have more people in the fancy offices than we do in the cubicles.
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July 18th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
I use the Harlem Line to get out of the city, both for fun and as an occasional reverse commuter, and use up a ten-ride ticket about once a month. It’s already $52.50 off-peak to my fare zone, and the peak period fare for the same ticket is over $80! If they eliminated the off-peak fare, I wouldn’t simply pay the $30 extra every month, I’d just have to cut trips and make the ticket last longer. That means I’d be paying them a lot less money, and I would be very irritated with Metro North on top of that.
I definitely agree with a service charge for MetroCards. In fact, I think they should charge even more than $1, and refund part of the fee if you turn it back in to the machine at its expiration. Tourists can still buy single-rides or fun passes. The subway tracks are so disgusting-looking with all the discarded MetroCards lying all over the place. MTA really needs to do something to discourage people littering with them.
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