Metro North Riders Expect To Pay More As Peak Fares Return

If your a regular morning and afternoon rider of Metro North, get ready to dig a little dipper into your wallet.

During the pandemic ridership on Metro North dropped substantially, so much so that the railroad actually suspended their peak fares during morning and afternoon commutes. Now that the pandemic numbers have dropped considerably, Metro North has made the decision to reinstate the peak fare rates to pre-COVID costs.

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According to the Metro North website, the peak fares were dropped early on in the pandemic when Metro North cut back on the number of trains it was running due to low ridership, and to ease the financial hardship of people being laid off due to COVID-19.

Ridership is still low compared to what it was before the pandemic, but since more trains are now running, not back to pre-COVID numbers yet, but they felt that now was the time to put the peak fares back into effect.

Starting yesterday, (March 1), Metro North peak hour fares returned, and they returned at prepandemic costs as well.

Peak fares on Metro North are charged weekdays between 6 AM and 10 AM during rush hours on trains scheduled for New York City, and between 4 PM and 8 PM on any train leaving New York City. Peak fares are also charged weekday mornings on trains leaving Grand Central Station between 6 AM and 9 AM.

Metro North is also introducing several ways for communters to save on their peak tickets. You can now purchase a monthly unlimited pass with 10% savings, or you could go with the standard monthly pass good for 20 trips. This option will save you up to 20%, however these standard monthly tickets are only good for 60 days.