is valid for travel within zones 1 and 3 on the Long Island Railroad. CityTickets can only be bought before boarding, except at Willets Point where they can be purchased on board, and they must be used on the day of purchase. CityTickets are not valid for travel to Far Rockaway because it is in Zone 4 (despite being within the city limits) and the Far Rockaway Branch passes through Nassau County. It is also not valid for travel to the Elmont station or the special event only Belmont Park station, which are just barely east of the Queens-Nassau border and thus are within Zone 4. Freedom Ticket In late 2017, the MTA was slated to launch a pilot that will allow LIRR, bus and subway service to use one ticket. The proposal for the ticket, called the "Freedom Ticket," was initially put forth by the New York City Transit Riders Council (NYCTRC) in 2007. The NYCTRC wrote a proof of concept report in 2015. At the time of the report, express bus riders from Southeast Queens had some of the longest commutes in the city, with their commutes being 96 minutes long, yet they paid a premium fare of $6.50. Riders who take the dollar van to the subway paid $4.75 to get to Manhattan in 65 minutes; riders who only took the bus and subway paid $2.75 to get to Manhattan in 86 minutes; and riders who took the LIRR paid $10 to get to Manhattan in 35 minutes. Unlike the CityTicket, the Freedom Ticket would be valid for off-peak and multidirectional travel; have free transfers to the subway and bus system; and be capped at $215 per month. At the time, monthly CityTickets cost $330 per month. The Freedom Ticket will initially be available for sale at the Atlantic Terminal, Nostrand Avenue, and East New York stations in Brooklyn and at the Laurelton, Locust Manor, Rosedale, and St. Albans stations in Queens. Riders, under the pilot, would be able to purchase one-way, weekly, or monthly passes that will be valid on the LIRR, on buses, and the subway. The fare will be higher than the price of a ride on the MetroCard, but it will be lower than the combined price of an LIRR ticket and a MetroCard, and it will allow unlimited free transfers between the LIRR, buses, and subway. The former head of the MTA,