mta.info

Ticket Information
Fares Effective March 1, 2008

FARES

BUYING TICKETS

TICKET TYPES

REFUNDS

BUYING TICKETS
Buy Before Boarding - Save Money on Tickets
The best way to buy tickets is by purchasing them before getting on a train. Purchasing your ticket on board the train is a cash-only transaction and the most expensive option.

WebTicket
WebTicket is a fast and convenient way to order tickets online. Save 5% on One Way, Round Trip, Ten Trip and Weekly tickets; save 2% on Monthly tickets. NYC Transit MetroCard and UniTicket options are available. Major credit cards are accepted. Tickets are delivered by mail in 3 – 5 business days and postage is free.

Mail&Ride
With Mail&Ride, a discounted LIRR Monthly ticket will be mailed to subscribers automatically every month. Easy payment options and access to change the account online or by phone are offered. Applications are available online, at all LIRR stations, or by calling 1-800-649-NYNY. All tickets have an MTA New York City Transit MetroCard on the reverse side. Customers choose the MetroCard option that works best:

Ticket Offices
Ticket offices sell all LIRR ticket types and offer certain values of MetroCard when purchased with LIRR tickets. Ticket offices accept cash, personal checks, major credit cards (American Express, MasterCard, Visa, Discover and Diners Club), bank-issued debit cards, as well as certain Transit Benefit Cards and vouchers. Personal checks are accepted for the purchase of Monthly, Weekly, and Ten Trip tickets, as well as five or more One Way tickets. Ticket office hours are posted at stations and on the online station pages.

Ticket Machines
LIRR has three types of ticket machines:TVM's

Only one payment type or card is accepted per transaction. To use Transit Benefit cards, the full value of your ticket purchase must be available on the card. Contact your provider about adding post tax dollars to purchase tickets that exceed the pre-tax benefit amount provided on these cards.

On Board Trains
Peak one-way, off-peak one-way, and off-peak round-trip tickets may be purchased on board trains at a cost of $4.75 to $5.50 more than tickets bought before boarding at ticket machines or ticket windows. This higher on-board fare does not apply to customers boarding at stations without a ticket office/ticket machine, senior citizens, people with disabilities or Medicare customers. Cash only; no bills larger than $50.

Transit Benefits
You may save hundreds of dollars a year by having a portion of your pre-tax salary set aside for commutation costs. Ask your Human Resources Department if your company offers a transit benefit program.

TICKET TYPES
Peak Fares are charged during business rush hours, on any weekday train scheduled to arrive in NYC terminals between 6 and 10 AM or depart NYC terminals between 4 and 8 PM.

Off Peak Fares are charged all other times on weekdays, all day on Saturdays and Sundays and holidays as listed below.

Holidays
Off Peak fares are valid and LIRR trains operate on a weekend schedule on the following holidays:
New Year′s Day, President′s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. When Christmas and New Year′s Day fall on a weekend, off-peak fares may also be in effect all day on the following Mondays.

Off Peak fares are valid all day even though LIRR trains operate on a weekday schedule on the following holidays:
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and the Day After Thanksgiving.

Senior/Disabled tickets will be honored all day on the holiday listed above and on: Columbus Day, Election Day and Veterans Day.

DAILY TICKET TYPES
One Way
Good for one ride in either direction, and sold for peak or off-peak travel. Off-peak fares are approximately 27.5% less than peak fares. Off-peak fares are available for travel between Zones 1 or 3 and all other zones; peak fares are specially priced for local (Zone 4-14) travel so the off-peak fare is the same. Valid for 6 months from date of sale.

Round Trip
Good for two rides, and sold for peak or off-peak travel. Priced at the combination of one-way fares selected (peak both ways, off-peak both ways, peak/off-peak, senior both ways, etc.). Valid for 6 months from date of sale.

Seniors
Individuals 65 years of age or older save 50% off the peak fare. Valid all times except weekday morning peak (westbound) trains. Customers must have Medicare card, driver′s license, birth certificate, or MTA Reduced-Fare MetroCard available to present at time of ticket purchase or use. Sold as an option under "One Way" or "Round Trip" ticket buttons on Ticket Machines and WebTicket. Valid for 6 months from date of sale.

People with Disabilities
Medicare customers of any age must present a valid Medicare card issued by the Social Security Administration, or an MTA Reduced-Fare MetroCard at time of ticket purchase or use to obtain half-fare price. Applications for MTA Reduced-Fare MetroCard are processed by New York City Transit. Valid all times except weekday morning peak (westbound) trains. Sold as an option under "One Way" or "Round Trip" ticket buttons on Ticket Machines and WebTicket. Valid for 6 months from date of sale.

Child Fare
Children under 5 years old ride free at all times. Children ages 5-11 travel at half the adult fares, or may use Family Fare - see restriction below. These tickets are sold as an option under "One Way" or "Round Trip" ticket buttons on Ticket Machines and WebTicket.

Family Fare
Good on off-peak trains, for children ages 5-11 who are traveling with a fare-paying adult guardian (18 years or older). Up to four children can travel with each adult for .75 cents each way when tickets are purchased in advance; on the train this fare is $1.00. Additional children ride for the applicable child fare. Family fare tickets presented on peak trains are subject to a substantial price adjustment. Sold under "One Way" or "Round Trip" ticket buttons on ticket machines and WebTicket when off peak is selected. Valid for 6 months from date of sale.

CityTicket
CityTicket is a special $3.25 fare for travel within New York City on LIRR trains on Saturdays/Sundays. Not valid at Shea Stadium, Belmont and Far Rockaway. Ticket is only valid on the same day of purchase and cannot be combined with other tickets. Ticket must be purchased at ticket windows or ticket machines located in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens; it cannot be bought on board trains. CityTicket is sold as a One Way or Round Trip ticket, and is available using these ticket type buttons, or the CityTicket button at Ticket Machines when/where valid only. Since the CityTicket refund policy is limited, consider purchasing One Way tickets as you use them.

MULTIPLE-RIDE TICKET TYPES
If you are going to travel for more than one day, you may save money purchasing one of our multiple-ride tickets. Monthly and weekly tickets are non-transferable. They are for the exclusive use of the person who first presents them, must be signed by the owner, and are subject to confiscation if used by anyone other than the owner.

Monthly
Good for unlimited rides during the calendar month indicated on the ticket. On sale starting the 20th of the month prior to the valid month of travel (for example: on May 20th you can buy June's ticket) at Ticket Offices and Ticket Machines. Sold in advance from WebTicket. Non-transferable.

Weekly
Good for unlimited rides Saturday through Friday; expiration date indicated on the face of the ticket. On sale starting the Wednesday before the Saturday that the ticket becomes valid. Non-transferable.

Ten Trip
Good for ten one-way rides from/to City Zone 1 only. Valid for one year from date of sale. Transferable - can be used by more than one person even when they are traveling together.
The following ten-trip ticket types are available:

Monthly School Tickets
For students under 21 years of age attending accredited elementary or secondary schools. Discount of up to one-third off the price of a regular Monthly ticket. Applications and tickets are available at ticket offices only. Applications must be signed by a school official and have the school seal affixed. Non-transferable.

UniTickets
UniTickets are combination bus/rail tickets that offer special discounts for monthly or weekly travel to/from certain LIRR stations on local bus routes. UniTickets are valid on certain New York City Transit buses in Queens, MTA Long Island Bus buses in Nassau County, Huntington Area Rapid Transit (HART) buses, and Long Beach Bus buses. The following discounted bus options are available with the purchase of LIRR Monthly or Weekly tickets:

UniTickets Available

Bus Operator

Monthly

Weekly

LI Bus - All Buses

$35

$9.75

HART - All Buses

$28

Not available

Long Beach - All Buses

$30

Not available

NYCT - Q5, Q12, Q13, Q14, Q15, Q16, Q17, Q20, Q26, Q27, Q28, Q31, Q44, Q48, Q79, Q85 at Rosedale, Little Neck, Bayside & Flushing Stations only

$29

$9.25

Group Tickets
Special discounted one-day, round-trip group tickets may be purchased for organized groups of 30 or more. Smaller groups of 10 or more may still be able to save. Group leaders should contact the Sales & Promotions Department at 718-558-7498 (Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 4 PM) for reservations at least two weeks in advance. Group tickets are sold through this department in advance, and at open ticket offices (please avoid morning rush hours).

Getaways & Packages
Special deals are developed by the LIRR in conjunction with major attractions, venues or special events to offer discounts to LIRR customers. Offers vary throughout the year.

Most tickets are available for sale at LIRR Ticket Offices and gray or blue Ticket Machines (listed under "Getaways & Packages" button on the right, on the first screen). Since each sale may contain more than one ticket stub, please wait for all tickets to be printed. Stubs are labeled for rail or admission use.

MetroCard
MetroCard is a fare medium used for MTA NYC Transit subways and buses, and acceptable on LI Bus. Pre-valued MetroCard is available in the following options:

REFUNDS
Validity of Tickets & Refunds Chart

Ticket Type

Valid for

Refundable for

One Way/Round Trip

6 Months

6 Months

Monthly

Calendar Month

Current Month (based on turn-in date)

Weekly

Saturday to Friday

Current Week (based on turn-in date)

Ten Trip

1 Year

1 Year

CityTicket

Date Purchased

30 Days

Getaways & Packages

Event Date(s)

6 Months (complete package only)

One Way and Round Trip Ticket Refunds
Up to four valid unused tickets purchased with cash or debit card can be redeemed for cash at a ticket office. More than four unused tickets or tickets purchased by check, debit or credit card, and any partially used tickets can only be refunded by the Ticket Refunds Department. Tickets can be sent by mail or brought to any ticket window to be forwarded to the refund department. Refunds will be made by check or credited back to the credit card used to purchase the ticket.

Monthly and Weekly Ticket Refunds
Since these tickets are sold at a significant discount for multiple ride use, refunds are based on the difference between: (1) the price paid and (2) the sum of the cheapest fares that could have been used for the days the ticket was held. Tickets turned in by 9:30 AM at your home station ticket office will not be charged for the turn-in day.

Refund Example: Customer turns in a Monthly ticket valid from Penn Station to Babylon, at Babylon Station ticket office before 9:30 AM on Tuesday the 8th (in a month that started with a Tuesday). This example would also apply if the customer mailed the ticket in and the postmark date was Tuesday the 8th.

The cheapest tickets that could have been used total $134.50:
Weekly ticket for Tuesday-Friday, Days 1-4 ($79)
Off-peak, Round Trip for Saturday-Sunday, Days 5 & 6 ($33)
Peak Round Trip for Monday, Day 7 ($22.50)

Original price $248 - $134.50 = $113.50 refund

MetroCard portions of combined monthly MetroCard and train tickets are refunded subject to a forfeit of discount, and prorating. Refunds of Monthly Unlimited MetroCard are subject to a $10 processing fee in addition to forfeit of discount and prorating.

Refunds will be made by check or credited back to the debit or credit card used to purchase the ticket.

Ten Trip Ticket Refunds
Ten Trip tickets can be refunded through the mail or brought to any ticket window to be forwarded to the Ticket Refunds Department. No refunds will be offered after one year from date of sale. Since off-peak ten-trip tickets are sold at a discount, refunds will be calculated by deducting the cost of off-peak one-way tickets for each ride used.

CityTicket Refunds
CityTicket can be refunded through the mail or brought to any ticket window to be forwarded to the Ticket Refunds Department. Refunds are available for up to 30 days and a $2.50 service fee per ticket is charged.

Getaways & Packages Ticket Refunds
Due to the heavy discounts provided, refunds will only be provided if all ticket stubs are submitted. Refunds are reviewed by the LIRR Sales & Promotions office. Please include a daytime phone number and explanation with your ticket submittal.

Ticket Refunds Department
Original tickets can be submitted through US Mail for refund (copies of tickets cannot be processed). Refunds will be calculated using the postmark as the turn-in date. Legibly print your full name, mailing address, phone number and reason for refund. Please allow up to 4 weeks for processing. If possible, retain a copy and mail tickets to:

LIRR Ticket Refunds Department
P.O. Box 350383
Jamaica, NY 11435

Hours: Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 4 PM
Phone: 718-558-3488

Forgotten Tickets
The LIRR is not responsible for forgotten tickets. If you forget your ticket, you should purchase a round-trip ticket at your station or you will have to pay the higher on-board fare price. Fares paid in lieu of forgotten, destroyed or damaged tickets are not refundable.

For more information, see phone number list.

Loading Translation Services...