If you've ridden on the train the last few years you've heard the expression, "if you see something, say something." And so I am.
The Long Island Rail Road is an abomination. How it has not yet been condemmed by the federal goverenmenet for being a monopoly is beyond me. It's the only rail road company operating on all of Long Island and as such they can control prices and hike them to their heart's content. With so many commuters depending on the railroad to get into Manhattan they know we'll have no choice but to pay whatever outrageous price they come up with.
$8.50 one way, off peak to Manhattan. Sure. $10. Sold. $15. Why not? When is it going to stop? At what point do straphangers unite and make a stand? At what point do they say no to the LIRR aka the Lets Increase Railrates Railroad? Probably never.
Which bothers me more than my mom's nagging. These prices are unacceptable and no one seems to be bothered by it. The MTA justifies them by saying they pay for the nice, new trains that we get to ride on. But they forgot that we never asked for the improvements. I actually prefer the older cars to the newer ones.
The newer ones are annoying. Their ergonomically designed seats are only ergonomical if you're 6 foot 2. Otherwise your back doesn't fit into the contures. And what's worse is the ding dong chiming of the automated conductor telling you what stop it is. The next stop will be Oceanside. We're almost at Oceanside. Now approaching Oceanside. This stop is Oceanside. Now leaving Oceanside. The next stop will be Island Park. Jeez! Enough already! When are you supposed to nap?
Between annoying new trains, ridicilously over the top prices, and inconvenient train schedules both during rush hour and in the early morning hours of the weekend the LIRR has seen better days. If there was an alternative, any alternative at all, it would trump the LIRR the way the Mets have trumped the Yankees this offseason.
One can only hope that day comes soon.
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1 comment:
Craig, your ignorance knows no bounds. I will do you a favor and explain, it's not your fault that NEU didn't have an Econ 101 class.
LIRR is a government backed monopoly because no private company in their right mind would shell out the billions of $ it would take to build a second set of rails, train yards, trains, etc.
If someone did the price of a train ticket would probably be $30 one-way.
There are plenty of alternatives to taking the train. They include, but are not limited to: Car, bus, bicycle, walking, and not getting a job that you have to commute to by train.
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