The Connecticut Rail Commuter Council is an independent state board that acts as an advocate for commuters on the Metro-North and Shore Line East railroads.
The board holds regular, public meetings once a month (except in the summer) with Metro-North and state Transportation Department officials to discuss concerns of commuters. The council also solicits complaints from riders, issues annual reports on rail service and lobbies on behalf of commuters before state boards, offices, the governor and the Legislature.
Most board meetings are held in Stamford, although the board also meets in other communities with commuter railroad stations.
The Connecticut group is distinct from the Metro North Rail Commuter Council in New York state. By law it must send its annual reports to that body as well as the management advisory board of the office of the inspector general of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York.[1] The powers and duties of the Council are advisory and non-binding in nature as evidenced in the enabling statute: Sec. 13b-212c. Powers and duties. The Metro North New Haven Rail Commuter Council shall study and investigate all aspects of the daily operation of the New Haven commuter railroad line, monitor its performance and recommend changes to improve the efficiency and the quality of service of the operation of such line. The council may request and shall receive from any department, division, board, bureau, commission, agency, public authority of the state or any political subdivision thereof such assistance and data as it requests and will enable it to properly carry out its activities for the purposes set forth herein. The council shall report its findings and recommendations annually on or before January fifteenth, to the Governor, the Commissioner of Transportation, the Connecticut Public Transportation Commission, the General Assembly, the Metro North Rail Commuter Council located in New York and the management advisory board of the office of the inspector general of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority located in New York.
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From the Connecticut law establishing the commuter council (Sec. 13b-212b. Metro North New Haven Rail Commuter Council established):[1]
In January 2006 the council issued its annual report, calling rail service "short on parking, seating and adequate climate control", according to a news report.[2]
"The council is not a cheerleader," Jim Cameron, chairman of the council, told the Associated Press. "Our goals are to reflect the concerns of commuters. We're nonpartisan and realistic."[2] The report said the state's commuter rail system is plagued by a lack of available parking for commuters at many stations, with most towns having waiting lists for parking as long as four years, even as some holders of monthly parking permits rarely use their spaces. The 30-year-old rail cars are often decrepit and dirty, and commuters on the New Haven line pay some of the highest fares in the country.[2]
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