metro north ten trip refund

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Buying LIRR and Metro-North tickets

Options for buying tickets, mta's traintime app.

With the new TrainTime app for Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North, you can plan a trip, purchase a ticket, get train status and track location, and chat with a customer service representative for either LIRR or Metro-North. 

Download the app on your Apple or Android device to easily buy tickets, manage refunds and receipts, and more. 

At a ticket office

Ticket offices sell all LIRR and MNR ticket types and also offer certain MetroCards. You can pay with cash, credit or debit cards, and some transit benefit cards. For LIRR tickets, you can use a personal check for monthly, weekly, and 10-trip tickets, or five or more one-way tickets.

Ticket office hours are posted at stations and on  LIRR Station pages .

Onboard trains

Buying tickets onboard is more expensive than other options: They cost $5.75-$6.50 more than tickets purchased before you board. You can only buy one-way tickets onboard.

Off-peak tickets will be "stepped up" to the peak fare when presented on peak trains. Step-up fares and extension-of-ride fares, which are charged for traveling beyond the stations listed on the ticket, will be rounded up to the next dollar.

Through your employer

If your company offers a tax-free transit benefit program, you can use it to buy LIRR or Metro-North tickets.

Note that transit benefit providers are independent of the MTA. If we refund tickets purchased through a pre-tax program, the money will be credited back to the benefit card you used to make the purchase.

At a ticket machine

You can buy different tickets at different machines. Unless otherwise noted, they accept cash (up to $50 bills and coin, returning up to $17.75 in coin change) and credit and debit cards.

• Gray machines : Buy all ticket types*, pre-valued MetroCards, and UniTickets.
• Red machines : Buy most types of one-way and round-trip tickets and pre-valued MetroCards. These machines do not sell monthly, weekly, 10-Trip, or package tickets.
• Blue machines : Buy all ticket types*, pre-valued MetroCards, and UniTickets. These machines accept only credit and debit cards They do not accept cash.
• Green machines (LIRR only): Buy all ticket types* and AirTrain MetroCards.

*Group tickets and monthly school tickets cannot be purchased at ticket machines.

Mail&Ride: Monthly ticket subscription

The Mail&Ride program automatically delivers your monthly ticket to the MTA TrainTime app on your mobile phone.

Starting in October 2021, paper ticket delivery, UniTickets, and MetroCards are no longer offered through the Mail&Ride program.

We also have a Mail&Ride program for students. Learn more .

See details and set up Mail&Ride for LIRR and Metro-North .

More ticket resources

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Community Corner

Metro-north tickets soon valid for 60 days, refund as late as 6 months, starting tuesday, commuters will see the validity of tickets increase from two weeks to two months..

David Gurliacci , Patch Staff

Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 4, the validity of one-way and round-trip tickets will be extended from 14 days to 60 days (includes day of purchase), and the refund period for those tickets is being extended from 30 days to 60 days from purchase date.

Ten-trip tickets will remain valid for six months. The period during which a ten-trip ticket is refundable is being lengthened from 30 days to six months (includes day of purchase) to match the validity period.

The $10 refund processing fee will remain in effect.

Find out what's happening in Darien with free, real-time updates from Patch.

This new policy applies to tickets purchased on or after September 4.

See the MTA website for the full list of fares .

Editor's note: This article previously was published by New Canaan Patch.

Jim Cameron, chairman of the Connecticut Metro North/Shore Line East Commuter Council, wrote an opinion column on the change for the Darien Times.

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THE CITY – NYC News

Reporting to New Yorkers

Sneak Peak: Rail Riders Charged Rush-Hour Prices Despite Pandemic Discount

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Hundreds of thousands of commuter railroad riders unwittingly overpaid for peak fares during the pandemic, MTA data shows — even as cheaper off-peak prices have remained in effect for 20 months.

At least 340,000 peak tickets were purchased between April and December of last year, figures that emerged from 2020 Long Island Rail Road ticket sales data obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request by The LIRR Today blog and verified by THE CITY.

The MTA said it has issued approximately 7,000 refunds for single-ride and 10-trip packages that were mistakenly purchased at peak prices — a little more than 2% of the total sold — but could not say how much commuters had overpaid.

“That’s a lot of people, that’s a lot of money,” Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, said of the hundreds of thousands of overcharged tickets. “And that’s for something that shouldn’t be that difficult to change.”

The transit agency did not remove the higher-priced option for traditional rush hours from ticket-vending machines for the LIRR and Metro-North until Nov. 1, when a banner was also added to the MTA eTix app reminding riders that “off-peak fares remain in effect on all trains until further notice.”

The MTA did not provide numbers for Metro-North as part of the information request and said it does not have figures for how many riders have paid for peak fares in 2021. 

In the Dark

The agency contends software on ticket-vending machines that date back to the mid-1990s is not easily updated — and that it made more sense to be patient about significant overhauls to the machines once the “essential service plan” was implemented in the spring of 2020 as ridership and the MTA’s finances collapsed.

“We have loudly and proudly announced that off-peak fares are in effect at all times during the pandemic in MTA apps, on vending screens and we will continue this messaging until peak fares are restored,” Aaron Donovan, an MTA spokesperson, told THE CITY.

Riders who paid for tickets at peak-hour prices instead of at off-peak rates can fill out forms for claims for refunds online. Paper tickets need to be sent to the MTA’s Customer Service Office or handed in at a ticket window, according to the agency — photocopies are not accepted.

“We’ll see how much of a runaround it is,” said Jay Carter, 38, who told THE CITY he overpaid for peak-fare rides on Metro-North for several weeks after he began commuting in April between Grand Central Terminal and his new job in Larchmont. “I’d say it’s worthwhile.” 

Single-ride tickets are the LIRR’s most popular and accounted for roughly 70% of fares sold last year, according to the data.

In March 2020, as ridership plunged on trains, buses and subways in the early stages of the COVID crisis, the two commuter railroads switched to round-the-clock off-peak fares for single rides and 10-trip packages that can cost 30% to 40% less than peak prices.

The MTA has said it plans to keep the discounted fares through the end of this year, while the railroads steadily rebuild ridership that fell by more than 90% during the height of the pandemic.

The LIRR carried a pandemic-era high of 166,700 riders on Nov. 30, according to MTA data , down about 49% from an average November weekday in 2019. Meanwhile, Metro-North has been slower to rebuild its ridership, with more than 130,000 riders on several days last month and weekday ridership down more than 50% from pre-pandemic levels.

But some riders have been unaware of the off-peak fares as they returned to the railroads. 

‘Going to Add Up’

Carter, who lives in Manhattan, said he became aware of the new prices only after paying a conductor $9.75 for a trip to Larchmont from Grand Central Terminal — instead of the $12.75 fare he was accustomed to.

He said he paid for the fare on the train before it departed because he was unable to complete the purchase on the app.

“If there’s going to be information about the fares, it would be at Grand Central, and it wasn’t,” he said. “Unless you had to purchase a ticket face to face, I don’t know how I could have found out.” 

John Track, a Metro-North rider who lives in Connecticut, said he’s annoyed that peak tickets are still available for purchase on the e-Tix app, despite the banner saying off-peak fares remain in effect on all trains.

“I don’t think the signs are enough,” said Track, 33. “What needs to change is to remove the option — that is the only acceptable option.”

Daglian, of the Citizens Advisory Committee, credited the MTA for posting updates to the app and ticket-vending machines. She said she first asked the agency in the spring of 2020 to put up signs about the full-time switch to off-peak fares after she noticed riders overpaying on the LIRR.

“I certainly saw people overpay,” she told THE CITY. “I asked the conductor if that’s something they saw regularly and he said they see it all the time.”

Carter guessed that he overpaid by about $50 for peak fares during his sporadic commutes last spring to and from Westchester.

“It’s an inconvenience,” he said. “But for some people, it’s really going to add up.”

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Darienite - News for Darien

Darienite (https://darienite.com/the-ultimate-guide-on-how-to-save-money-riding-metro-north-260072)

The Ultimate Guide on How to Save Money Riding Metro-North

By jim cameron | november 2, 2021.

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Are you paying too much to ride Metro-North? Maybe.

As we slowly return to semi-regular commuting by commuter rail in Connecticut, ridership on Metro-North is about half of pre-COVID levels, below the railroad’s hopes and its consultants’ predictions — but not mine .

But however often you’re taking the train these days, here are some money saving tips:

Buy Your Ticket Before Boarding

A Metro-North Ticket Machine (this one was at the East Norwalk station) can be a money-saving machine. Instead of buying a ticket when you’re on the train, use this or other machines or any other way to buy a ticket — except for eTix this year.

First tip: Always buy your ticket before boarding the train. Conductors can charge you a hefty on-board surcharge up to $6.50 (but not for seniors) if you don’t have a ticket.

That’s a rookie mistake you’ll only make once. If you buy your ticket on the eTix app , be sure to activate your ticket before boarding the train, not when the conductor comes to collect your fare.

The eTix App WILL OVERCHARGE YOU Through Dec 31

OFF-PEAK only fares remain in effect on all trains, even at rush hour, through the end of this year. Yet the railroad is still selling peak tickets, both on its eTix app and its ticket machines. Why?

The railroad says it’s had trouble reprogramming their 20-year-old ticket machines and app so they’ve been relying on a PR campaign to alert travelers not to buy peak tickets. I think they’d hoped to get back to peak fares long ago but now realize that’s not going to happen.

Image from the Metro-North website

Off-peak discounts are in effect ALL THE TIME through the end of this year.

Regular Riders: Buy a Ten-Trip Off-Peak

If you know you’re going to be riding regularly, buy a TEN-TRIP OFF-PEAK and you’ll save 15%. Mind you, these ten-trips are only good for six months but they can be shared, say, with your family.

50% Discount for Seniors, Medicare Recipients, Disabled

There are also TEN-TRIP OFF-PEAK tickets for seniors, Medicare recipients and the disabled. All fares for those passengers are already discounted 50%, a substantial savings.

Possible Deal for Part-Time Commuters

Chances are good that Metro-North may start selling 20 or 30-trip tickets in the new year, reflecting the new reality that workers may not be commuting full time but still want a discount.

Huge Deals for Students, Big Deals for Military

Active duty members of the military can also get a 25% fare break. And students using the train to commute can also get a discount if they file the paperwork . Students attending most Connecticut colleges and universities can also take advantage of U-Pass giving them free rides on buses and trains, but only within the state.

Cheap Fares Within Connecticut

If you’re going between intermediate stations, say from Bridgeport to Stamford, there are also discounted fares, especially cheap if you’re only traveling within Connecticut.

Steep Discount on Monthly Tickets for Full-Time Commuters

If you’re really back to full-time commuting, a monthly ticket is your best bet — a 48% discount on the regular fares.

Monthly pass sales used to represent almost half of all ticket income (pre-COVID) but they’re only back to about 17% of previous levels.

Weekend Discount for Monthly Ticket Holders

One nice bonus for monthly ticket holders: through Nov. 21 you can bring up to four other passengers with you on weekends for only $1 each.

Other Money-Saving Possibilities

Need a refund for your unused ticket? That will cost you $10 and must be requested within 60 days of purchase.

You should also check to see if your employer offers TransitChek , where you can buy up to $270 worth of train tickets using pre-tax dollars, a substantial discount depending on your tax bracket.

Station parking can be expensive but is free at most stations on nights and weekends. Check with your town to be sure.

Whatever your train riding pattern, do your homework and you’ll save yourself some money.

And, oh yes — don’t forget to wear a mask !

____________________

Contributed photo

Jim Cameron

Jim Cameron, a Darien resident for more than 25 years, is the founder of the Commuter Action Group , sits on the Merritt Parkway Conservancy board, serves on the Darien RTM and is program director for Darien TV79. Opinions expressed in this syndicated column are his own, not necessarily those of Darienite.com. You can reach him at [email protected].

Comments are closed.

Watch CBS News

MTA Revises Ticket Policy For LIRR, Metro-North After Customer Complaints

July 23, 2012 / 6:53 PM EDT / CBS New York

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The MTA is extending the period of one-way and round-trip tickets on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North from two weeks to two months.

The agency also is extending the refund period on those tickets from one month to two months.

"It makes it easier to buy a ticket and keep it in your pocket. [You] don't have to wait in line, you don't get caught paying an on-board fee and it's just one less thing to worry about," MTA spokeswoman Margie Anders told 1010 WINS.

Ten-trip tickets will continue to be valid for six months. A $10 refund processing fee will remain in effect to cover administrative costs.

The MTA said the changes will cost the commuter railroads a total of $6 million but reflected the agency's commitment to customer service.

It had decreased the validity periods in December 2010 to reduce revenue loss from uncollected tickets.

The revised policy announced Monday was made in response to complaints from customers and elected officials.

"It was such an unpopular policy and we do have a little brightening of our economic picture that we are gonna go ahead and make these changes," Anders said.

Share your thoughts in the comments section below...

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

• Metro-North Railroad

Featured Local Savings

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Join CT Mirror and its members in the work of producing unbiased journalism for Connecticut.

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Saving money on Metro-North

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Are you paying too much to ride Metro-North?  Maybe.

As we slowly return to semi-regular commuting by commuter rail in Connecticut, ridership on Metro-North is about half of pre-COVID levels, below the railroad’s hopes … but not my expectations .

But however often you’re taking the train these days, here are some money saving tips.

First tip:  always buy your ticket before boarding the train.  Conductors can charge you a hefty on-board surcharge up to $6.50 (but not for seniors) if you don’t have a ticket.  That’s a rookie mistake you’ll only make once.

If you buy your ticket on the eTix app , be sure to activate your ticket before boarding the train, not when the conductor comes to collect your fare.

Off-peak only fares remain in effect on all trains, even at rush hour, through the end of this year.  Yet the railroad is still selling peak tickets, both on its eTix app and its ticket machines. Why?

The railroad says it’s had trouble reprogramming their 20-year-old ticket machines and app so they’ve been relying on a PR campaign to alert travelers not to buy peak tickets.  I think they’d hoped to get back to peak fares long ago but now realize that’s not going to happen.

If you know you’re going to be riding regularly, buy a ten-trip off-peak and you’ll save 15%.  Mind you, these ten-trips are only good for six months but they can be shared, say, with your family.

There are also ten-trip off-peak tickets for seniors, Medicare recipients and the disabled.  All fares for those passengers are already discounted 50%, a substantial savings.

Chances are good that Metro-North may start selling 20 or 30-trip tickets in the new year, reflecting the new reality that workers may not be commuting full time but still want a discount.

Active duty members of the military can also get a 25% fare break.  And students using the train to commute can also get a discount if they file the paperwork . Students attending most Connecticut colleges and universities can also take advantage of U-Pass giving them free rides on buses and trains, but only within the state.

If you’re going between intermediate stations, say from Bridgeport to Stamford, there are also discounted fares, especially cheap if you’re only traveling within Connecticut.

If you’re really back to full-time commuting, a monthly ticket is your best bet… a 48% discount on the regular fares.  Monthly pass sales used to represent almost half of all ticket income (pre-COVID) but they’re only back to about 17% of previous levels.  One nice bonus for monthly ticket holders:  through November 21 you can bring up to four other passengers with you on weekends for only $1 each.

Need a refund for your unused ticket?  That will cost you $10 and must be requested within 60 days of purchase.

You should also check to see if your employer offers TransitChek where you can buy up to $270 worth of train tickets using pre-tax dollars, a substantial discount depending on your tax bracket.

Station parking can be expensive but is free at most stations on nights and weekends.  Check with your town to be sure.

Whatever your train riding pattern, do your homework and you’ll save yourself some money.  And, oh yes… don’t forget to wear a mask !

Jim Cameron is Founder of the  Commuter Action Group , advocates for Connecticut rail riders.   Contact Jim at  [email protected]

Jim Cameron | Columnist

Jim Cameron is founder of the Commuter Action Group and advocates for Connecticut rail riders. He writes this weekly column called "Talking Transportation" for CT Mirror and other publications in the state. Read past Talking Transportation columns by clicking the "More by Jim Cameron" link below. Contact Jim at [email protected].

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Changes to MTA fares and tolls in 2023

On August 20, fare increases went into effect across MTA subways, buses, and commuter railroads. Toll increases on bridges and tunnels went into effect on August 6.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we agreed to implement fare increases every two years. Thanks to funding from Gov. Kathy Hochul, we were able to put off the 2021 scheduled fare increase.

Now, with ridership growing, we're returning to the regular fare increases that allow us to maintain current service levels and even increase service frequency.

Changes to New York City Transit fares

• The base fare for subway, local buses and paratransit increased 15 cents, from $2.75 to $2.90.
• If you purchased a 7-Day or 30-Day Unlimited Ride pass at the current fare, you had to begin using it by August 27 to get the full days of unlimited rides. If you began your pass after August 27, you will need to request a pro-rated refund for the remaining days after September 2 for a 7-Day pass or September 25 for a 30-Day pass. Unused passes will be refunded at the full purchase price.
• To request a refund, you must submit the MetroCard in question to MTA New York City Transit by using either a prepaid business reply envelope, available upon request at any subway station, or mailing the card with a completed claim form to MetroCard Customer Claims, 130 Livingston Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201-9625.
• The reduced fare for eligible customers remains half of the base fare. It increased from $1.35 to $1.45.
• Since Express Buses travel longer distances than local buses and use highways, New York City Transit provides coach buses and charges a higher fare than on local buses.

Download detailed NYCT fare information

Changes to lirr and metro-north fares.

• Thanks to the additional 10% discount implemented in March 2022, monthly fares remain lower than they were pre-COVID.
• Recognizing the high fares in the farthest railroad zones, Monthly ticket fares do not exceed $500.
• Monthly tickets at the new fare went on sale on August 25 for September. Weekly tickets at the new fare went on sale on August 23 for the week of August 26-September 1.
• This leads to slightly higher increases of 6-7% on LIRR Off-Peak tickets and slightly lower increases of 2-3% on Metro-North Off-Peak tickets.
• There is no fare increase for any ticket type on the Metro-North Port Jervis and Pascack Valley lines.
• All other ticket types increased by as much as 10%; however, any increase greater than 6% has been held to a maximum increase of $0.50 per trip.
• LIRR and Metro-North continue to offer UniTicket fares to travel on both commuter rail and connecting bus and ferry services. Changes in those fares are based in part on changes to weekly and monthly transit fares. One-way tickets for MTA-managed connecting services have also changed.
• Policies regarding the calculation of onboard fares and refunds remain unchanged.
• All tickets purchased at the old fare will continue to be valid through their stated expiration dates.

LIRR and Metro-North fare tables

Changes to nyct, lirr, and metro-north fare pilots.

The MTA has implemented new fare pilots and modified a handful of existing pilots that make taking mass transit more affordable and more flexible.

A more flexible fare capping pilot with OMNY

OMNY customers continue to get the best weekly fare. Your first tap starts a new 7-day cap. If you spend $34 (or $17 for Reduced-Fare customers) within a seven-day period, you ride free for the rest of that week. If you spend less, you only pay for the rides you take. The cap resets every seven days. Group trips, express bus taps, and transfers do not count toward the weekly cap.

More CityTicket pilot options

CityTicket continues to offer customers a $5 flat-fare ticket to travel within New York City limits during all off-peak hours. MTA has also introduced a Peak CityTicket for travel during weekday peak hours for $7.

MTA has also introduced a special ticket for customers traveling to Far Rockaway on the LIRR at the same price as the typical CityTicket.

Atlantic Ticket and 20-Trip Peak ticket pilots discontinued

As the MTA adopts new CityTicket pilots, and in the interest of standardizing and simplifying commuter railroad fares, both the $5 One-Way Atlantic Ticket and $60 Weekly Atlantic Ticket have been discontinued.

The 20-Trip Peak ticket, introduced in 2022 to encourage infrequent customers to commute more regularly, has been discontinued as post-COVID travel patterns continue to return to normal.

Changes to tolls

• The MTA has increased toll rates 6% for customers using an E-ZPass issued by the New York Customer Service Center, which serves MTA Bridges and Tunnels, the New York State Thruway Authority, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
• Toll rates have increased 10% for customers paying with an out-of-state E-ZPass or who choose to be tolled by mail.
• The existing toll discount programs for Rockaways/Broad Channel and Staten Island residents using the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge and Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, respectively, remain in effect.

Transportation | LIRR and Metro North set to approve 10% monthly…

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Transportation

Transportation | lirr and metro north set to approve 10% monthly discount ticket.

The MTA is expected to vote Tuesday to approve a 10% discount on monthly tickets for commuter rail travel that begins and ends within the five boroughs.

The program — a pilot program meant to last at least a year — will be a monthly counterpart to the MTA’s “City Ticket,” which lets people travel within the city on the LIRR or Metro-North for a $5 off-peak fare or a $7 peak fare.

The new monthly discount is meant to make it easier for New Yorkers out of reach of the subway system to use public transit after the MTA begins tolling Manhattan-bound motorists with congestion pricing at the end of June .

The discounted monthly tickets can be used beginning in July. Commuters can purchase them as of June 25.

“Approximately 70,000 monthly passes are purchased [in a year] between Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road within city travel,” MTA Deputy Chief Financial Officer Jai Patel said Monday.

“It will also benefit approximately 12,000 monthly student tickets that are purchased annually,” she added.

The program is expected to cost the MTA $4 million in lost revenue, offset with funding from the agency’s Outer Borough Transportation Account.

Transit advocates have long called for a monthly City Ticket, especially after the cancellation of the LIRR’s “Atlantic Ticket” last year .

That ticket, which allowed for weekly LIRR trips to Atlantic Terminal from New York City stations at $5 per ride, also enabled free transfers to the subway or bus.

MTA board member Andrew Albert advocated for a similar transfer to be incorporated into the new monthly ticket.

“The majority of the folks who will utilize Long Island Rail Road and Metro North in the boroughs are not just having a one-seat ride,” he said.

Patel acknowledged the point, but said the MTA had no plans to add free transfers to the discount package.

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Biden, after meeting with families of officers killed in NC, says the nation is grieving with them

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — President  Joe Biden  said Thursday he was praying for loved ones and all those left behind after he met privately with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. The visit came just a week after he sat down with the grieving relatives of two cops killed in upstate New York.

“The entire nation is grieving with these families,” he said from his second stop of the day in Wilmington, North Carolina, where he was announcing new measures to cut lead pipes from the water supply.

Biden detoured to Charlotte for the visit that took place with little fanfare behind closed doors, as the White House wanted Biden to be seen as respecting the privacy of grieving families and avoiding the appearance of using their grief for political purposes. He also met with officers wounded during the shooting, and wished them a fast recovery.

The president took a short motorcade across the airport to the North Carolina Air National Guard base to meet  the group, which included elected officials . The location was an alternative to traveling into the city and was chosen as the least taxing one for local law enforcement officers who are still reeling from the deaths but who would have a hand in securing the president’s trip.

“The men and women of law enforcement, you represent the best of us,” he said from the podium at the second stop.

Once again, Biden was seeking to be an empathetic leader for a community reeling from gun violence, while also calling  for stricter rules around firearms  and more money for law enforcement on the front lines.

Four officers were killed this week in North Carolina, when a wanted man opened fire on a joint agency  task force  that had come to arrest him on a warrant for possession of a firearm as an ex-felon, and fleeing to elude capture. They were: Sam Poloche and William Elliott of the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Officer Joshua Eyer; and Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas Weeks.

Four other officers were wounded in the gunfire; the suspect was killed. An AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a 40-caliber handgun and ammunition were found at the scene.

An AR-15 is among the weapons most  often used in mass shootings, and it’s the type of gun Biden is talking about when he says the U.S. should ban "  assault weapons .” Congress passed the most  comprehensive gun control legislation in decades  in 2022, after a horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. But it didn’t go far enough, Biden often says.

And as he campaigns for the 2024 election, Biden has made curbing gun violence a major campaign platform,  elusive to Democrats even during the Obama era , as he fends off attacks from Republican challenger  Donald Trump that he is soft on crime  and anti-police.

“We have to get them the resources they need to do their job,” Biden said of law enforcement. “And keep the weapons of war” out of the wrong hands.

The violence came just about two weeks after another  fatal shooting of law enforcement officers  in Syracuse, New York; Lieutenant Michael Hoosock and Officer Michael Jensen were killed while looking for a driver who fled a traffic stop. After his speech, Biden met relatives of both of the officers’ families.

Biden had already been scheduled to come to Syracuse to celebrate  Micron Technology’s plans to build a campus of computer chip factories , but the local police union said officers were still coming to terms with the deaths and weren’t happy with the president’s trip and had hoped he would delay.

On Thursday from Wilmington, Biden announced his administration was providing states with an additional $3 billion to replace lead pipes across the country, building on $5.8 billion for  water infrastructure projects around the country  announced in February.

“There’s no safe level of lead exposure,” he said. “None. The only way forward is to replace every lead service line that connects clean water.”

Money for the pipe replacement comes from one of the administration’s key legislative victories, the  $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law  that  Biden  signed in 2021. The infrastructure law includes over $50 billion to upgrade America’s water infrastructure.

The new round of funding will help pay for projects nationwide as Biden seeks to replace all lead pipes in the country.

“We’re going to get it done,” he said.

EPA estimates that North Carolina has 370,000 lead pipes, and $76 million will go to replace them statewide. Biden also will meet with faculty and students at a Wilmington school that replaced a water fountain with high levels of lead with money from the law.

Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Matthew Daly and Josh Boak contributed to this story.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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England local and mayoral elections: results to look out for and when

Results across 107 councils and in 10 mayoral votes will start coming in from the early hours of Friday

• Local election results – live

Local elections 2024: full council results for England

Voters across England have the opportunity to give their verdict on Rishi Sunak’s government on Thursday in the last set of local elections before the general election.

Many of the seats up for grabs were last contested in May 2021, when the Conservatives under Boris Johnson were enjoying a Covid “vaccine bounce”. Fast-forward three years and the Tories are trailing 20 points behind Labour in national polls.

There is therefore no doubt that the next few days are going to be difficult for the Conservatives as the results trickle in. Just how difficult they will be will depend on whether the extent of the Tory drubbing surpasses expectations.

This is a small set of local elections, covering 2,636 seats across 107 English councils . Labour and the Conservatives are each defending about 1,000 seats, and psephologists predict that the Tories may lose 500. Voters will also elect 10 metro mayors. A particularly bad set of results could destabilise Sunak’s position.

Here are the key results to look out for and when:

Early hours of Friday The result of the parliamentary election in Blackpool South will set the tone early on. Labour is expected to win back the seat, which fell vacant after the former Tory MP Scott Benton resigned after breaching standards rules in a lobbying scandal. Benton won the once solidly Labour-voting constituency in the 2019 election with a 3,690 majority.

Between around 1.30am and 4am on Friday, 39 councils are expected to declare their results, giving a partial picture of the overall outcome. Among the councils due to declare at around 3am is Harlow , a key bellwether town and general election battleground where all 33 seats are up for grabs. Keir Starmer went to Harlow, which is currently Tory-controlled, for his eve-of-poll campaign visit on Wednesday.

Overnight results are also due to come in from Rushmoor , Thurrock and Redditch , all of which are Tory-controlled but which Labour hopes to take.

Friday lunchtime Things will go quiet for a while on Friday morning, after the councils that counted overnight have finished declaring and the ones that only start counting in the daytime begin. The result of the Tees Valley mayoral contest, where Ben Houchen is fighting a challenge from Labour’s Chris McEwan , is expected at about 12.30pm.

Houchen won a second term as mayor in 2021 with a huge 72.8% of the vote. But in the last four years his popularity has taken a knock from controversy over the Teesworks regeneration project and the national collapse in the Tory brand. Nonetheless, YouGov polling this week put Houchen seven points ahead of McEwan. If he were unexpectedly to lose, it would deal a major blow to Sunak.

At around noon on Friday, Labour will find out if it has won the contest for the new North East mayor, which would be a shoo-in if not for the independent Jamie Driscoll .

Results will also come in from Tory-controlled Walsall , a key general election battleground that was part of the “red wall” that flipped from Labour in 2019. Labour is also fighting for three extra seats it needs for a majority on Cannock Chase council, which has been a bellwether since 1997.

Friday afternoon The result of the new East Midlands mayoral contest is due at around 2pm on Friday, and Labour is expect to win. At around 3pm we will find out the result of the York & North Yorkshire mayoral race, where Labour is eyeing an upset in a Tory heartland – and Sunak’s back yard.

About half of the councils holding elections are expected to declare their results between noon and 6pm on Friday. Between 2 and 3pm these will include Basildon , Nuneaton & Bedworth , Hyndburn and Milton Keynes , all top Labour targets. Labour needs just two seats to take control in Milton Keynes, a bellwether area, for the first time in 24 years.

By around 4pm results are expected from Tunbridge Wells and Wokingham , two Lib Dem target areas that are “blue wall” Tory strongholds in the south-east of England. The Lib Dems are hoping to take control of both councils.

Around 6pm it will be clear how many Green gains there have been in Bristol at Labour’s expense. Bristol is the Greens’ top target in the general election. By Friday evening there should be results from Elmbridge , Dominic Raab’s patch, where the Lib Dems are gunning for control of the council, and Dorset and Gloucester , which they want to knock into no overall control.

Saturday afternoon The West Midlands metro mayoralty – perhaps the most closely fought major contest in this set of elections – is expected to declare its result on Saturday around 3pm. Andy Street is seeking re-election for a third term but faces a challenge from Labour’s Richard Parker, with polls suggesting the pair have been neck and neck.

The results of the London mayoral contest and London assembly elections are also due on Saturday. Labour’s Sadiq Khan is seeking a third term and polls have put him comfortably ahead of Tory Susan Hall , despite jitters in Khan’s campaign team. The Greater Manchester contest, which Andy Burnham is all but certain to win, is also due.

This last set of results, which will include some councils and police and crime commissioners declaring on Saturday and Sunday, will complete the picture of these local elections and determine just how much trouble the Conservatives are in.

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