Voices of passengers: Transit justice must include commuter rail

I’ve lived in Southeast Queens for ten years now. I can walk to the St. Albans Long Island Rail Road station in about ten minutes. But I never actually use the commuter train—and I would love to—because I cannot afford it.

Instead, I walk past that station every day, and take a much longer journey, starting on the Q4 bus, transferring at Jamaica Center, and then taking the E or J train, or another bus, depending on where I’m going. Or some days I’ll take the Q51 to the A train, thanks to Queens Bus Network Redesign changes that happened in June 2025.

The commuter rails are far too expensive for many of us living in Queens who need faster, more reliable access to public transit. A CityTicket to get on the LIRR or Metro-North costs $5, or $7 during rush hours, plus another $2.90 to transfer to the bus or subway to reach my final destination. That means it can cost up to $19.80 for one round trip, and $59.40 if my family of three wants to go somewhere together—compared to just $8.70 by subway and bus since my entire family has Fair Fares now, which allows us to pay half-price fares.

Living this deep in the outer boroughs means it takes as much as 90 minutes by subway and bus to get to places like Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn, where many people work. But by commuter rail? Grand Central is only a half-hour away from St. Albans. If I transfer to the Atlantic shuttle, it’s only 20 minutes between Jamaica and Barclays Center. And if I transfer to Metro-North at Grand Central, I can get to Fordham, Bronx in an hour, instead of taking three buses (and paying double fare), including the Q44 which alone takes more than an hour.

I wish commuter rail was affordable, and I’m not alone. Thousands of Queens and Bronx residents would benefit from more affordable transit options that would save them money, and could give back hours in each day. In 2018, then-Comptroller Scott Stringer estimated it would cost only $50 million to bring commuter rail fares down to subway fares within the city’s limits. Or the City could expand the invaluable Fair Fares program to commuter lines, and cut many of our commutes in half. 

Briefly, in 2019, I got a window into how much easier my commute to school would have been if I could afford to take the commuter rails. For a few weeks after New Years, the LIRR cross-honored MetroCards while MTA rebuilt track switches on the J train in Jamaica. I simply showed the conductor my MetroCard, and got to ride without swiping. For three glorious days I took my younger sister to school in Ridgewood using the LIRR between Jamaica and East New York stations. And, despite still having to use the bus or subway at both ends, our 70-minute unpredictable commute became a reliable 40 minute ride!

Affordability is essential to building a better New York, and commuter rail must be included. It’s an easy way to offer a huge relief to thousands of hardworking outer-borough residents like myself.

Samuel Santaella is a public transit user living in Queens