Operating Challenges & Solutions

Beth A. SullivanMTA Long Island Rail Road

Superintendent – Revenue Compliance & Service Quality

Jamaica, New York

Operating Challenges & Solutions

MTA Long Island Rail Road

• 81 million annual riders• Over 4,300 weekly revenue trains• Over 700 miles of track• 11 branches, stretching from New York’s Penn Station to

Montauk (120 miles)• 124 station, mostly unmanned (30 open ticket windows)

Operating Challenges & Solutions

Operating Challenges & Solutions

Station selling automated• 2002 – 2005 automated the ticket windows and began

ticket machine deployment to stations

Operating Challenges & Solutions

Challenges Moving Forward• Open platforms• Labor agreements• Customer behavior• Technology

Operating Challenges & Solutions

What’s next?• Automate conductor sales• Prepare to accept any type of ticket

Operating Challenges & Solutions

Where are we?• On-Board Ticket Issuing Machines Pilot – August 2012

through February 2013

Payment Type

Tickets Percent Revenue Percent

Cash 13,298 82% $152,752 76%

Credit 2,983 18% $48,300 24%

Total 16,281 $201,052

Operating Challenges & Solutions

Where are we heading?• Lessons learned• Conductor focus groups• New application• New device summer 2013• Joint RFP Mobile Ticketing