LI Senators Announce Act To Overhaul MTA, Improve Service

Gathering on the platform at the Hicksville LIRR station Friday morning, Long Island's Democratic state senators announced the MTA RAIL Act, which they say will overhaul the MTA's operations.

The MTA RAIL Act -- which stands for the MTA Revitalization, Accountability, Improvement and Legitimization Act -- is a five-point plan to overhaul the MTA and make it more rider-friendly, the senators said.

It would include an independent forensic audit of the MTA’s procurements, improvement to long-term capital planning, providing riders a voting voice on the MTA board, overhauling the way the MTA analyzes itself and ensuring MTA revenues are more likely to go to New York businesses.

“Long Island commuters continually wonder why so much money is being spent on the MTA with so little return," said Sen. Todd Kaminsky. "Riders want to know if the MTA is asking them for more money that it will be invested wisely and result in better service. This forensic audit will help illuminate systemic problems and help get things back on track.”

The senators claim that the act will change how the MTA does business and modernize the transportation giant, as well as improve service for all of its riders.

In response, the LIRR said that it is already working on improving services and cutting costs.

"When LIRR President Phil Eng came on board less than a year ago, he established the LIRR Forward plan that identified the causes of all delays and established measures to systematically tackle them, and the results are starting to come in, with the LIRR recording on-time performance improvements in December and January," an LIRR spokesman said in a statement to Patch. "We are also prioritizing car and bathroom cleanliness, car availability, extra care for those who need help with mobility, and communications, for example by launching a well-received new real-time train finder at myLIRR.org. Congestion pricing and reliable revenue sources are critical to making upgrades that will result in real improvements for MTA riders, including measures that will reduce delays, improve capacity, provide new LIRR railcars, renovate stations, and improve tracks.”