LONG ISLAND — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will deploy shuttle buses and expand subway capacity on Monday as the Long Island Rail Road strike enters its first workday without service. Starting at 4:00 a.m., shuttles will run from select Long Island stations to subway connections in Queens for essential workers.
Shuttle buses will operate between the Ronkonkoma and Huntington stations and the Jamaica 179th Street subway stop in Queens, where commuters can board the F train into Manhattan. Additional buses will run from the Bay Shore, Hicksville and Mineola stations and from Hempstead Lake State Park to the Howard Beach–JFK Airport subway station, where riders can connect to the A train.
The shuttles will operate during peak hours, heading toward Manhattan from 4:30 to 9 a.m. and returning to Long Island from 3 to 7 p.m. Accessible shuttle bus service will be provided from Bay Shore, Hempstead Lake State Park, Hicksville and Mineola to the Howard Beach–JFK Airport A station, and from Huntington and Ronkonkoma to the Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer EJZ station.
The parking lot at Citi Field will be open for commuters to park and board the 7 train. Nassau County commuters can use NICE bus service to connect to the Flushing–Main Street station for the 7 train or to the Jamaica Bus Terminal for a short walk to the 169th Street station for the F train.
The MTA recommended the Far Rockaway–Mott Av, Kew Gardens–Union Tpke, Ozone Park–Lefferts Blvd, Sheepshead Bay and Woodhaven Blvd stations as commuter drop-off points. None of those stations have parking lots.
Officials announced that additional resources will be made available for the New York City subway system to handle an influx of riders on Monday. The shutdown is expected to cause congestion and delays.
Governor Hochul urged commuters who can work from home to do so. The MTA also recommended that anyone impacted by the strike work remotely if possible.