Long Islanders are scrambling to figure out how they'll get around if the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and union leaders cannot come to a new agreement by the weekend.
As News 12 has reported for months, a strike would shut down the entire Long Island Rail Road indefinitely.
According to the MTA, 250,000 to 300,000 people commute on the system each day, but a system closure would require all those people to find alternative means of getting where they need to go.
The MTA continues to urge people to work from home if possible, as a first option, though it is offering shuttle service from six locations.
Despite that option, many Long Islanders said the buses would be too inconvenient, so they would opt to drive into New York City instead.
Long Island's major roadways, including the Long Island Expressway, Northern State Parkway and Southern State Parkway, are some of the region's busiest roads as it is, particularly during peak morning and evening rush hour commutes.
The concern from traffic experts is that the roads could be completely clogged if even just a portion of the usual train commuters drive instead, resulting in severe congestion.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said the two sides made progress yesterday and are negotiating over future pay increases.
The deadline to avoid a system-wide shutdown is Saturday at 12:01 a.m.
LIRR unions issued a release providing an update on contract talks on Thursday morning.
It stated that they will not accept “gimmicks offered by the MTA” and asserted that “a straightforward wage increase is necessary. Proposed one-time lump sum payment are rejected.”
The release said that a strike in less than 48 hours is likely if the MTA does not get serious about wage proposals.
It also called the MTA news press conference an “astounding lesson in misinformation and disinformation.”
“The transit authority’s chief negotiator’s description of a wage increase versus a lump sum payment as no different than the choice between a red and a yellow popsicle was nonsensical,” said the release.
Nassau Legislature Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton made a post on Instagram calling for NICE bus to provide shuttle bus service from Glen Cove, Port Washington to Penn Station in the event of a strike.
