Customer Satisfaction Survey
The customers have spoken, and in 2007 gave the LIRR an overall rating of 6.7 - the second-highest rating since we started measuring customer satisfaction in 1991. Last year's improvement was driven by your impression of on-board train service, which registered its best-ever rating.
The grade you gave to On Time Performance (OTP), your most important issue, matched its highest mark ever as well, reflecting the fact that last year was the Railroad's best ever for OTP. That trend has continued, with this January registering the best month of On Time Performance ever.
Many on-board areas received their highest ratings ever, including: Personal Security, PA Announcements, Climate Control, Comfort of Trip, Condition of Seats, Train Interior Maintenance, Availability of Crew, Cleanliness of Interior, and the Physical Condition of the Restrooms.
You also gave Station Signage, Security of Parked Car, Courtesy of Ticket Sellers and the number of Open Ticket Windows their best marks ever.
You saved the highest of all marks for the Effectiveness of Station Ticket Sellers, with the Presence of Police at Penn Station a close second.
Once again, the lowest ratings were reserved for the restroom facilities at Penn Station, Flatbush Avenue and onboard our trains. We are addressing those ratings by refurbishing Penn Station's restrooms and increasing onboard toilet servicing on weekends. In addition, the "new" Flatbush Avenue Terminal is scheduled for completion late this year with brand new restrooms.

Fare Increase Info
While exact increases vary depending on ticket type, the following general fare changes are scheduled to begin on Saturday, March 1, 2008:

• most monthly and weekly commuter rail tickets will increase between 3.77 percent and 4.13 percent
• for Mail&Ride customers, the $76 unlimited MetroCard remains valid through March 31; the new $81 price will take effect in April
• LIRR customers who buy a $40 MetroCard with their monthly ticket will get 24 rides in March, 23 rides in April
  

For the complete chart of new ticket prices, please visit the LIRR website.

Diesel Fleet
Taking steps to improve the reliability of the Railroad's diesel fleet, which experiences far too many failures while in operation, LIRR President Helena Williams has announced a reorganization of the fleet's maintenance operation.
Based upon the findings of a report presented by Booz Allen Transportation, an independent consulting firm, we have created a Task Force to guide the implementation of twelve targeted initiatives.
Immediate steps will be taken to improve maintenance facilities and procedures, while identifying and training additional maintenance personnel on the diesel fleet.
A plan to reduce the frequency of electric mode operation of dual-mode locomotives east of Jamaica has already been put in place, and steps will be taken to protect electrical components and systems against overheating.

Cell Phones for Train Crews
As part of an ongoing effort to improve communications with customers during service disruptions, your train crews will be receiving cell phones with text messaging capabilities. We plan to have the cell phones in the field and operational for more than 1,000 train personnel by April. In the meantime, 20 of the phones have been deployed as a test.

New Schedules - March 3
The new schedules starting on Monday, March 3, reflect projects on the Port Washington, Oyster Bay and Montauk branches.
Those projects will impact midday and weekend service on all branches of the Railroad, altering running times and adjusting schedules. All midday and weekend customers are strongly encouraged to review the new timetables in order to acquaint themselves with the impact this work will have on their normal service.
We apologize for any inconvenience this work will cause, but want to assure you that these projects to improve and/or maintain the Railroad's work projects are essential to the safety and efficiency of the Railroad. We also want you to know that we make every effort to minimize the impact on your train schedules when conducting this necessary work.
Track work on the Port Washington Branch will impact our service on the weekends of March 15/16 and 29/30, April 5/6 and May 17/18 ... with trains serving customers between Shea Stadium and Port Washington and subways providing transportation between Shea and Woodside/Manhattan. For full details, please visit the LIRR website.

St. Patrick's Day Service
St. Patrick's Day (March 17) falls on a Monday this year and the Long Island Rail Road will be offering six extra westbound and eight extra eastbound trains to our customers. Details are available on our website. We hope you enjoy your St. Patrick's Day ... and please remember that no alcohol will be allowed on LIRR trains that day.

Cell Phone Haiku:
The cell phone vibrates
A man speaks softly, briefly
The smiling season

On-Time Monthly Performance

BRANCH	AM Peak	PM Peak	Off- Peak	Total January 2008	Total January 2007
Babylon	95.2	97.0	97.5	97.0	94.8
Far Rockaway	96.7	98.0	98.9	98.5	97.3
Hicksville/Huntington	92.7	88.6	96.4	94.8	95.3
Hempstead	96.7	97.5	98.0	97.7	97.7
Long Beach	97.4	96.7	98.5	98.1	96.2
Montauk	93.2	97.4	96.9	96.5	94.0
Oyster Bay	96.8	96.2	95.3	95.7	94.6
Port Jefferson	89.8	94.2	94.6	93.8	92.7
Port Washington	89.1	99.3	97.9	97.1	96.9
Greenport/Ronkonkoma	89.7	97.3	94.9	94.3	93.4
West Hempstead	97.3	97.0	98.6	98.2	97.0
TOTAL	93.7	96.4	97.2	96.6	95.4

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