Cynthia Abrahamson of the Project for Public Spaces told the Tri-State Transportation Campaign that "We've always found that one of the keys to making a place more safe and increasing the public's perception of safety -- whether it's a park, a train station or a downtown main street -- is to have some presence of authority there." Abrahamson said the Transit Authority's subway station managers program has been a big step in the right direction. Stations with local managers have been consistently rated higher by riders than those without. "But by cutting token clerk presence in the stations, the Transit Authority is going directly against the lessons it's learned and correctly applied in the station manager program," she said. Project for Public Spaces is conducting a major study for the Federal Transit Administration on elements that contribute to viable transit stations, and how good transit facilities contribute to communities.

The Straphangers Campaign's Gene Russianoff told the NY Times Metrocard is currently available at fewer than half of New York City's subway stations, and that bulk token purchases were not an option for many poorer transit riders.

At a recent hearing on the MTA Capital Program, Transit Workers Union Local 100 representative Stephen Anderson called reducing token booth hours, closing booths and cutting clerk numbers a "formula for disaster." He said subway clerks were the "eyes and ears of the underground." Anderson noted even street incidents are often reported to clerks, as people know the booths are staffed. The absence of clerks to give straphangers travel directions and up-to-date information will also undermine service, said Anderson.

"Dots on a Line"

32 of the Long Island Railroad's lower-volume stations are slated to have their ticket clerks eliminated by the Railroad in April, for an estimated savings of $2 million per year.

Kenneth Lipton, chair of the Transportation Communications Union, representing LIRR ticket agents, told Newsday commuters would be "shortchanged" without station clerks. One LIRR rider said she feared for her safety, predicting "Nobody will end up using the train."

Project for Public Spaces' Abrahamson agrees. She said a human presence is as important at commuter rail facilities as in city stations. "Transit agencies often do not realize the strong role their facilities play in a community. While towns regard a train stop as a central piece of infrastructure, the transit operator looks at the towns as dots on a line. If the agency abandons a station, the community will also abandon it." Abrahamson said her group's research in NJ showed much lower ridership at unstaffed stations, and some increased costs like vandalism. She said before LIRR pulls staff out, it should look at ways to maintain community presence at its operations, like asking retailers near stations to sell tickets and parking permits and distribute schedules.

A separate LIRR plan to close 13 stations will add to the ridership-dampening effect of staff cuts. Railroad officials announced last month they would close the stations rather than upgrade platforms to fit new double-decker cars entering service next year.