NEW YORK CITY – With less than a week remaining until a potential Long Island Rail Road strike, nearly 300,000 daily commuters are left wondering how they will get to work.
As union representatives and the MTA race against a Saturday deadline to reach an agreement, the MTA has released a contingency plan relying heavily on shuttle buses.
What we know:
If a strike does occur, the MTA’s primary contingency plan involves deploying shuttle buses to bridge the gap between Long Island and New York City subway lines.
Planned shuttle routes
- To the A Train (Howard Beach): Shuttle buses will run from the Bay Shore, Hicksville, and Mineola LIRR stations.
- To the F Train (Jamaica): Shuttle buses will run from the Huntington and Ronkonkoma LIRR stations.
Commuters are being urged to start familiarizing themselves with subway maps now to understand how to make the necessary connections once they reach the city.
Dig deeper:
While the shuttle bus plan offers a lifeline, it comes with a significant limitation: the shuttle buses will not operate 24/7.
The restricted schedule means the backup plan may not be available to accommodate shift workers who commute late at night or very early in the morning, leaving many people scrambling for alternative transportation.
LIRR strike date? Here’s what commuters should know
If workers walk off the job, the impact would be immediate and widespread. More than 300,000 daily riders rely on the LIRR, one of the nation’s busiest commuter rail systems connecting Long Island to New York City.
What they’re saying:
Commuter reactions to the looming strike and the proposed backup plan range from weary to highly frustrated. Many riders are already feeling the squeeze of rising transportation costs and strict return-to-office mandates.
“The fares have gone up… The commute is getting outrageously expensive,” one daily commuter of 14 years noted. “In a post-COVID world, we are required to come into the office more, so it will be a struggle. Absolutely.”
LIRR strike could begin this weekend
LIRR service would be forced to shutdown entirely with limited us service if the strike were to go through. FOX 5 NY’s Jessica Formoso has the latest.
The backstory:
The union representing LIRR employees has threatened to walk off the job this Saturday if an agreement cannot be reached with the MTA.
The primary sticking point in the negotiations is the percentage of the workers’ annual raise. Union members are pushing for higher pay to keep pace with the rising cost of living. Talks are currently ongoing to try to reach a deal and prevent massive disruptions to the regional transit network.
The Source: Information from this article was provided by LIRR and reporting by FOX 5.
New York CityTravelLong Island Railroad