I have lived in southeast Queens for ten years. I can walk to the St. Albans station on the Long Island Rail Road in about ten minutes. But I never use that commuter train – and I would love to – because I can’t afford it.
However, I pass by that station every day and make a much longer trip, starting on the Q4 bus then transferring at Jamaica Center to take the E or J train, or another bus depending on where I’m going. On some days I take the Q51 to the A train, thanks to changes to Queens bus networks that went into effect in June 2025.
Commuter rail is too expensive for many of us who live in Queens and we need faster, more reliable access to public transportation. A CityTicket for the LIRR or Metro-North costs $5, or $7 during rush hour, plus another $2.90 to transfer to the bus or subway to get to my final destination. That means a round trip can cost up to $19.80, and $59.40 if my family of three wants to go somewhere together – compared to just $8.70 on the subway and bus since my entire family has Fair Fares now, allowing us to pay half the price of the total fare.
Living so far out in the boroughs means it takes a person up to 90 minutes by subway and bus to get to places like Lower Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn where many people work. But by commuter train? Grand Central is just half an hour from St. Albans station. If I transfer to the Atlantic shuttle, it’s only about 20 minutes between Jamaica and Barclays Center. And if I transfer to Metro-North at Grand Central, I can get to Fordham in the Bronx in an hour, instead of taking three buses (and paying double) including the Q44 which alone takes more than an hour.
I would love for commuter rail to be affordable, and I’m not the only one who would like that. Thousands of Queens and Bronx residents benefit from more affordable transportation options that would save them money and allow them to regain hours of work each day. In 2018, then-Comptroller Scott Stringer said it would cost just $50 million to reduce commuter rail fares to the same level as subway fares in the five boroughs. Or the city could expand the Fair Fares program to include commuter lines and cut our commutes in half the time.
In 2019, for a little while I could see how easy my trip to school would be if I had been able to pay for the commuter train. For a few weeks after New Year’s, the LIRR allowed the use of MetroCards while they were rebuilding the J train track changes in Jamaica. I simply had to show my MetroCard to the driver or station agent, and I could pass without having to pay. For three days I was able to take my younger sister to her school in Ridgewood using the LIRR between the Jamaica and East New York stations. And despite having to continue using the bus or subway both ways, our unpredictable 70-minute trip turned into a reliable 40-minute trip!
Affordability is essential to building a better New York, and commuter rail must be included. It’s a simple way to provide big relief to thousands of hard-working suburban residents across the five boroughs.
Samuel Santaella is a public transportation user who lives in Queens