New Yorkers were warned to prepare for travel disruption on the first working day of the week as service on the vital Long Island Rail Road remains suspended because of a historic strike.
According to CNN, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani late on Sunday, May 17, provided an update of the latest developments and advice on how to navigate the service interruption.
He wrote, “The City is preparing for travel disruptions going into the workweek and New Yorkers should too. New Yorkers should plan for heavier-than-usual traffic and additional travel time.”
Marathon talks between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the railway, and unions representing railroad workers ended early Monday without an agreement to end the strike, which has shut down North America’s busiest commuter rail network since Saturday.
As per MTA’s latest service alert all branches of the Long Island Rail Road, which carries around 250,000 customers each weekday across 947 trains, remain suspended.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that MTA will provide shuttle busses from Long Island into the city starting at 4.30 am ET Monday.
She said, “We have a plan in place to help essential workers get to the city and minimize disruptions as much as possible.”
However, MTA has warned that the buses will have a capacity of 13,000 riders for the morning commute and another 13,000 riders in the afternoon.
The strike by five unions representing 3,500 workers is the first at the railroad since 1994.
It comes after the unions failed Friday to reach a deal with management on wages and working conditions. Workers are seeking their first raise since 2022, in the region of 4-5%.
