That's right, the cost of traveling on New York City's railroads may just go down-- for once.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority board member Allen Cappelli made the case on Monday that the MTA should study whether lowering the cost of LIRR and Metro-North will help New Yorkers without subway access and poor bus service move around faster.

It's kind of a shock, an MTA board member wants to fares to lower fare prices, right? 

But Capelli's not asking for the subway fare to decrease. For that, he'd surely be cast off the board. 

Capelli's trying to see if lower the cost for other tickets would ease other New Yorkers' pain, and put overall less tension on the NYC subway system, if riders switch to other options given lower prices.

Early detractors of the plan claim MTA would lose too much money, approximately $70 million in lost fares. 

But Capelli is unswayed. In a statement made days before the board meeting, Capelli said, "Honestly to me it sounds like seat-of-the-pants analysis and I think issue warrants more than somebody's best guess."

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The apparent issue is this. For New Yorkers living in outer boroughs like Queens and the Bronx, LIRR and Metro-North trains are an option for getting around the City. The problem is that round-trip tickets can cost up to $20.

While there are discounted CityTickets that go for $4.25 one way, they're only offered on weekends. 

Imagine if your subway trip cost between $10-$20 per day? Seriously, Capelli may be onto something. If fares on LIRR and Metro-North went down a bit, people may opt for those lines rather than taking a bus to a subway and spending lots of extra time in transit. 

Check out Here's What Lives on NYC Subway Poles. 

[via NY Daily News]