Dear Customer,
I want to take this opportunity to express to you my sincerest gratitude for trusting the Long Island Rail Road to get you where you needed to go and highlight some major accomplishments achieved this past year.
At the LIRR we are focused on safety, reliability and improving the customer experience. This past year, we delivered on this focus, and it has resulted in improvements to our service and benefited our valued customers.
As you know, we increased service by 40% since the opening of the award-winning Grand Central Madison Terminal, but that is only part of the story. Making all this service reliable is what’s important. I am extremely proud to report that our service has markedly improved, and our year-to-date on-time performance (OTP) is 95.6%. Last month, we had our best November in recorded history in terms of total on time performance.
You spoke. We listened. Over the past 12 months, we have implemented numerous initiatives designed to improve the customer experience—notably, our Station Spruce-Up program; feedback decals in station and onboard bathrooms; improved customer flow in Jamaica; improved transfers in Jamaica; reduced crowding on trains; new seating closer to GCM platforms; and four new ADA-accessible stations.
That is good value for your money, and your dollar still goes further than it did in 2019. The cost of a monthly ticket is still cheaper than it was in 2019 in real terms. On top of the expanded CityTicket program that debuted last year, 2024 saw the introduction of Summer Saturdays and now the Winter Weekends discount program that is set to begin on January 4.
These initiatives and the reliability of our service is the main reason why ridership at the LIRR is exploding, and customer satisfaction is improving.
Year-to-date, total ridership at the end of November is 16% higher than in 2023, with 9.5 million more rides. Year-to-date, non-commutation ridership at the end of November is 21% above 2023 and 17% above 2019. Even more impressive, October non-commutation was the highest monthly total in recorded history.
Your patronage is appreciated beyond measure, and please know that we will never stop trying to improve both our service and your LIRR experience. As a Long Islander myself, I have a vested interest in improving the lives of fellow Long Islanders. Our almost 8,000 hardworking employees know that resting on our laurels is not an option, and we are firmly committed to giving our loyal customers the world-class service they deserve each, and every day.
We look forward to serving you in 2025 and beyond. The future is bright. From the Long Island Rail Road family to yours…have a wonderful holiday season and a peaceful, joyous new year.
Sincerely,
Rob Free
President