MENU
SEARCHRob Free has served as LIRR’s acting president for the last six months.
As acting president, Rob Free promised to prioritize three things: safety for riders and employees, increased reliability, and higher customer satisfaction.
Photo: Marc A. Hermann/MTA
New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chair/CEO Janno Lieber appointed Rob Free as the 42nd president of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR).
Free served as LIRR’s acting president for the last six months. He began his career with the railroad as a station cleaner 31 years ago, rising through the ranks to become chief transportation officer and sr. VP, operations, before becoming president.
Free was instrumental in the rollout of LIRR service to Grand Central Madison, helping to oversee a 41% increase in service that accompanied the terminal’s opening, the largest service increase in LIRR history.
During his time in LIRR leadership, the MTA also completed the Main Line Third Track project that enabled a 41% service increase, opened the first new LIRR station in 50 years at (Elmont-UBS Arena), and completed an overhaul of the LIRR concourse at Penn Station while continuing to run robust train service all throughout construction.
As President, Free will oversee LIRR’s 24/7 service, 700 miles of tracks, and 126 stations — which includes three of the top five busiest commuter railroad stations in North America. Free says a top goal is to boost ridership and continue to adjust schedules to improve on-time performance even more.
“When I joined the LIRR as a 22-year-old station cleaner, I never imagined that one day I would be running this incredible organization,” said Free. “It’s been an amazing journey so far and I am excited to continue to build on our successes and make the riding experience even better for Long Islanders. Ridership continues to climb, with weekdays routinely carrying 230,000-plus riders, as is on-time performance which has been above 95% for three straight months.”
As acting president, Free promised to prioritize three things: safety for riders and employees, increased reliability, and higher customer satisfaction.
Over the past six months, Free has delivered in all three areas. MTAPD increased its presence on the rails bringing a greater sense of security to everyone on trains and in stations. LIRR enjoyed it’s best February in 12 years with 96.3% of trains arriving on-time, which is also the sixth-best month in LIRR history.
As a result of the rising ridership and improved on-time performance, customer satisfaction has increased. He’s also previously led initiatives that improved customer satisfaction such as replacing more than 12,000 seat cushions over the last two years and regularly personally surveys platform operations and checks bathrooms to ensure they are clean and in good working order.
METRO’s People Movement highlights the latest leadership changes, promotions, and personnel news across the public transit, motorcoach, and people mobility sectors.
Read More →
BART began offering select parking lots to non-BART riders to generate new revenue to help address its FY27 $376M operating budget deficit brought on by remote work.
Read More →
Agencies across the U.S. honored transit workers on March 18, recognizing the essential roles they play in keeping communities moving daily.
Read More →
Drawing on decades of industry experience, Evans-Benson offered insights into the differences between the two, along with tips for better customer engagement and more.
Read More →
The renewals include continued operations at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida; the PRTC in Virginia; and RTC Washoe in Nevada.
Read More →
The new system introduces tap-to-pay, touchscreen kiosks, and updated Breeze cards, with both old and new systems running through May.
Read More →
The governor’s proposed auto insurance reforms could save the agency $48 million annually by limiting payouts in crashes where buses are not primarily at fault.
Read More →
What truly drives the cost of a paratransit fleet? Beyond the purchase price, seven operational factors quietly determine maintenance frequency, downtime, and long-term service reliability. This whitepaper explores how these factors shape lifecycle cost and what agencies should evaluate when selecting paratransit vehicles.
Read More →
In this conversation, TBC’s Executive Director Ed Redfern, President Corey Aldridge, and Washington Representative Joel Rubin outline the coalition’s key policy priorities, the challenges facing transit agencies, and how industry stakeholders can work together to strengthen the voice of bus transit at the federal level.
Read More →
Amanda Wanke, who has worked at DART for 10 years, including the past 2½ years as CEO, will join Metro Transit as deputy chief operating officer, operations administration.
Read More →
