Janno Lieber, CEO of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, discussed new priorities for the agency.
Photo by Iryna Shkurhan
Leadership from North America’s largest transportation network convened for a roundtable discussion in the Jamaica Central Control Building on Thursday, Oct. 19, to discuss the future of public transportation for New Yorkers.
The conference came following a week of record ridership for the Metropolitan Transit Authority since the pandemic, which plummeted revenue and left them in a multibillion dollar deficit. Now that the budget is whole following the rescue of state funding in April, the MTA and LIRR are prioritizing safety, reliability and the customer experience. Even more people are expected to take public transportation with congestion pricing going into effect in 2024, and climate change demanding a future with less reliance on cars.
“Mass transit is the antidote to climate change. So everything we do to get people on mass transit is a huge step for climate change. That is the very big picture,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber, who added that the agency is committed to an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
It also marked the first full day on the job for Robert Free, the new president of Long Island Railroad. He began his career for the LIRR as a station cleaner, and over 31 years, moved his way up to serving as senior vice president of Operations most recently. He was joined by Lieber and John McCarthy, head of Policy and External Affairs at the MTA.
“All that time, I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would be sitting here today leading this agency,” said Free, who didn’t shy away from expressing pride in his humble beginning.
The LIRR wants to continue incentivizing more people, especially in eastern Queens, to put rail on their transportation roster. Traveling from Jamaica to Midtown is now faster by rail than taking the E train. But it is still more expensive despite the recent cut…
Read the full article here
