N4 Via Merrick Rd Posted October 6, 2012 Share #1 Posted October 6, 2012 Pilot Program Extending Hours at 41 Stations Resulted from Collaborative Effort between the Railroad and LIRR Commuters Council The Long Island Rail Road was joined by the LIRR Commuters Council in announcing a pilot program to expand the hours of some of the Railroad's station waiting rooms. The LIRR is extending the waiting room hours at 41 stations as part of its ongoing effort to improve customer service and in response to concerns raised by the LIRR Commuter Council, which pressed for later afternoon and evening access to station facilities on behalf of customers. The 41 stations will have their waiting room hours extended until 10 PM in the evening on weekdays. LIRR station waiting rooms typically open between 5 AM and 6 AM on weekdays. Prior to the pilot, most station waiting rooms closed by mid-afternoon. LIRR President Helena Williams said: "By expanding the waiting room hours in this pilot program, we are looking to provide an added level of customer service. We realize that our customers are traveling our system at all hours of the day. By making the waiting rooms available for greater periods, customers have the convenience of waiting for trains out of the elements. We've been working closely with the LIRR Commuter Council on this issue and we appreciate their input." LIRR Commuter Council Chairman Mark Epstein said: "We are pleased that the Railroad has responded to the needs of its riders, who are increasingly traveling the system in afternoon and evening hours and relying on connecting services to reach their destinations. This is a significant step forward to provide all riders with a safe, clean, and convenient place to await their next leg of their trips." Earlier this year in a pilot program, the LIRR extended waiting room hours until 10 PM on weekdays at 20 stations. Those stations included: Bellerose, Bethpage, Brentwood, Douglaston, Farmingdale, Great Neck, Kings Park, Little Neck, Lynbrook, Merrick, Mineola, Oakdale, Oceanside, Patchogue, Roslyn, Sayville, Stony Brook, Valley Stream, Wantagh, and Woodmere. The LIRR closely monitored conditions at these 20 stations and determined that the extended hours did not result in significant additional cleaning or vandalism issues, allowing the pilot to be expanded. The LIRR has now expanded this pilot program to include an additional 21 stations – bringing the total number of stations to 41. The additional stations include: Baldwin, Broadway, Cedarhurst, Central Islip, East Hampton, Floral Park, Forest Hills, Greenlawn, Island Park, Kew Gardens, Lindenhurst, Northport, Queens Village, Rockville Centre, Ronkonkoma, Rosedale, Sea Cliff, Seaford, Smithtown, St. James and Westbury. -Courtesy MTA LIRR website. http://www.mta.info/news/stories/?story=832 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User Posted October 6, 2012 Share #2 Posted October 6, 2012 Oh, so that's why the Douglaston waiting room has been open longer during the day. Too bad they fired the guy who sold tickets there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Up Front Posted October 6, 2012 Share #3 Posted October 6, 2012 So they can get trashed like the ones at Hicksville? Oh lawdy. I know VS Taxi tries to fend off the bums and I applaud them for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N4 Via Merrick Rd Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share #4 Posted October 6, 2012 IMO its better cause people won't have to go all the way around the station buildings. Oh, so that's why the Douglaston waiting room has been open longer during the day. Too bad they fired the guy who sold tickets there. Why did he get fired? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User Posted October 6, 2012 Share #5 Posted October 6, 2012 Why did he get fired? It was back in 2008 I think when they laid off a bunch of station agents because of budget issues. The guy was very nice, but nobody has ever replaced him and there is never anyone manning Douglaston now. We just have two ticket machines and thats it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N4 Via Merrick Rd Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share #6 Posted October 6, 2012 I figured that was the case Ticket machines also take Ticket Clerks jobs. but moving on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinePower Posted October 8, 2012 Share #7 Posted October 8, 2012 Definately something I've been wanting for awhile. I do notice Port Jefferson is absent from this list, which is a shame since people waiting for the 8:34pm train have to wait outside and deal with the various characters outside. If any of you have been following the local news that area has gone to hell in the past year or so. I dont go there anymore, myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amtrak7 Posted October 8, 2012 Share #8 Posted October 8, 2012 Expanding waiting room hours costs the LIRR practically nothing so why don't they open them on weekends? I understand security issues preventing 24 hour operation at the outer stations, but weekends and Fridays should be similar from a security standpoint... As for ticket clerks I've always advocated their reduction, because they are in most cases wasteful. I've said this before, only these stations should have them (all 7 day) NYP FBA Jamaica Woodside Great Neck Port Wash Mineola Hicksville Huntington Ronkonkoma Long Beach Freeport Merrick Babylon John back when you used to use Port Jeff was the agent busy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VWM Posted October 8, 2012 Share #9 Posted October 8, 2012 Oh, Merrick isn't on the list.... But baldwin is! ...I'll b checking this out sooner or later... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinePower Posted October 9, 2012 Share #10 Posted October 9, 2012 Expanding waiting room hours costs the LIRR practically nothing so why don't they open them on weekends? I understand security issues preventing 24 hour operation at the outer stations, but weekends and Fridays should be similar from a security standpoint... As for ticket clerks I've always advocated their reduction, because they are in most cases wasteful. I've said this before, only these stations should have them (all 7 day) NYP FBA Jamaica Woodside Great Neck Port Wash Mineola Hicksville Huntington Ronkonkoma Long Beach Freeport Merrick Babylon John back when you used to use Port Jeff was the agent busy? yes, actually most people seemed to prefer to buy their tickets from the agent. It may have been because bums are always hanging around by the machines asking ppl for money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VWM Posted October 10, 2012 Share #11 Posted October 10, 2012 At Merrick most people buy at the machine, most likely due to the agent never being there... honestly i havent seen much of the waiting room Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User Posted October 20, 2012 Share #12 Posted October 20, 2012 At Merrick most people buy at the machine, most likely due to the agent never being there... honestly i havent seen much of the waiting room The machines replaced a lot of agents. Just goes to show the progress of technology! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MF Ensembleson Posted October 28, 2012 Share #13 Posted October 28, 2012 Yeah, it's a bummer the ticket agents are goners... Hopefully they were moved to a different position with the company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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