With the integration of bus and subway fares, all of New York City has become a "one fare zone". This zone is roughly a fifteen mile radius from Penn Station. West of the Hudson River, fares become more complex. Initially, the Regional Rail plan suggests extending the central fare zone west to include Hudson County and the City of Newark, since these places are already accessible with a single PATH fare.

Integrating the Regional Rail system into the central zone and providing frequent service will produce dramatic changes in use of the system. Many passengers can be expected to shift from slow, overcrowded subway lines to the Regional Rail lines. Including the airports in the central zone and eliminating extra fares for use of the AirTrain services at Newark and JFK Airports will open up new travel markets.

Focusing Community Development at Regional Rail Stations

With frequent service and integrated fares, Regional Rail service can be a force for major economic development at stations throughout the region. The impact will be greatest in New York City, where many of these stations see little use because of a paucity of service and high fares. In total, some 60 new and existing stations can be hubs for locally planned, community-sensitive development within the central zone. Opportunities for transit-oriented housing and economic development at these stations are significant. The challenge is to involve the community in a creative process that will assure sustainable and neighborhood friendly initiatives.

Environmentally-friendly Station Access

Many of the existing and proposed Regional Rail stations are already in densely developed areas, and walking is an important access mode. But for the tributary areas beyond the stations, other access modes are needed. With integrated fares, local bus and light rail service can be especially useful. Some reconfiguration of routes may be appropriate and the design of bus-rail interfaces must be made as passenger friendly as possible. Bike access is also important, and safe, well-crafted bike routes leading to the stations should be planned. Within the central NYC zone, parking lots and garages should not be encouraged. Where they do exist, free-market pricing should be required, so spaces are available for essential travelers.

Carrots and Sticks

The very successful congestion pricing experiment in Central London has drawn many admirers in NYC. Charging motorists who crossed the boundary in Central London, using an automated system of vehicle identification, produced very positive results, reducing traffic volumes by 16% and congestion by 30%. The London central pricing zone is approximately the same area as the nearly nine square mile Manhattan Business District, south of Central Park. The Regional Rail plan, with its significant service gains and fare innovations, could become an important component of a comprehensive "carrot and stick" plan for New York that would include congestion pricing
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This carrot-and-stick principle could be extended to the two major airports that would be served by the initial Regional Rail plan - Newark Liberty and JFK. By using an automated pricing system at the gateways to the terminal areas many motorists would be diverted from the crowded roadways in the terminal areas to the enhanced Regional Rail services to the airports.

One Seat Ride to JFK Airport

Long the dream of New Yorkers is a convenient one-seat ride rail service between the core of the city and JFK Airport. The key is to restore the weed-strewn right of way once used by LIRR trains heading to the Rockaway Peninsula. This high quality alignment - the Rockaway Cut-off -- remains virtually intact, and could be brought back to life with a relatively modest investment. Some 4.2 mile of rail line would need to be restored and a track connection made just north of the Howard Beach Station, so that trains could use the on-airport AirTrain loop. A small fleet of specially-designed rail cars that could operate on the Regional Rail system and the on-airport system would be needed. At Aqueduct Racetrack a cross-platform transfer with the subway is possible. Service would be at 10 minute intervals days, evenings and weekends.