ATTENTION BROOKLYN AND QUEENS LIRR COMMUTERS: The $60 weekly Atlantic Ticket, which includes a 7-Day Unlimited MetroCard for easy and affordable subway and bus connections, has been eliminated!

The MTA has instead expanded CityTicket, which will cost $5 during off-peak hours and $7 during peak hours (a $2 increase from Atlantic Ticket's flat rate). However, this ticket does not include any free subway or bus transfers!

This also comes after the MTA chose to significantly reduce through-service to/from Atlantic Terminal, which has resulted in a reduction in ridership on the line. To then eliminate Atlantic Ticket and strip away all its benefits from riders who now get third-class service on the line is despicable and discriminatory against Brooklyn and Queens community members, many of whom are unable to afford the $7 CityTicket and would be adversely affected.

These important discounts must not only be saved, but expanded so that all of us can afford easier and more accessible public transit options. For example, they should be included at Grand Central, which would be another incentive to take public transportation and fill up the empty trains that run to/from this new Manhattan terminal. New York City's affordability crisis shows that discounts for public transit, especially for those who need it the most, are critical now.