Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad: Availability of Parking (Follow-Up Review)

The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) provides rail service between New York City and Long Island, and the Metro-North Railroad (Metro-North) provides rail service between New York City and certain parts of New York State and Connecticut. The LIRR operates 124 passenger stations, while Metro-North operates 88 passenger stations.

In our initial audit report 2001-S-10, we examined the actions taken by the LIRR and Metro-North to improve the availability of parking at their passenger stations. We found that actions had been taken to increase the number of parking spaces at certain crowded stations, but no actions had been taken at other crowded stations due to the opposition of the communities containing the stations. We also found that, even though the demand for parking spaces at passenger stations was expected to increase, neither railroad had developed a comprehensive plan for addressing these projected needs. We recommended that both railroads develop such plans, and as part of the plans, consider the feasibility of developing alternative means of transporting commuters to passenger stations, such as shuttle vans to and from park-and-ride facilities. In our follow-up review, we found that the recommendations contained in our prior report had been implemented.

For a complete copy of Report 2004-F-4 click here.