The area surrounding the Long Beach Long Island Rail Road station will see a change in the coming weeks when the Long Beach Taxi stand closes, which is scheduled to occur before the end of September. It will be replaced by a Metropolitan Transportation Authority police office.

Long Beach Taxi, which has operated in the city for more than 50 years, plans to relocate its phone operators and dispatch office from its current West Park Avenue site, adjacent to the station. The MTA owns the property, and has subleased it to the taxi company, which is now considering moving to a building in the West End — roughly two miles away.

“We just built a brand-new office down on West Beech Street, where West End Auto is,” said Russell Chisholm, the manager of Long Beach Taxi since January. “That’s where our garage is.” Chisolm added that the company hasn’t ruled out other local sites where it could offer service to railroad riders.

“I do have a meeting with the deputy director of the MTA real estate division,” Chisolm said. “We’re looking into other solutions, either here” — at the Long Beach station — “or at another station. We’re looking at Oceanside. I’ve already spoken to Mayor [Michael] McGinty of Island Park.”

Long Beach Taxi estimates that commuters traveling to and from the train station account for roughly 25 percent of its business, and it has begun devising a new plan to provide them with uninterrupted service. Chisholm explained that the company will maintain a presence of as many as five vehicles at the station, in a dedicated area on its west side, near Kennedy Plaza. The area will be monitored by cameras 24 hours a day, and dispatchers and drivers will be ready for train arrivals.

The MTA confirmed the upcoming plans and timeline in a written statement. “The current tenant will be vacating the space in September,” the agency’s press office wrote. “The space is set to be used by the MTA Police Department.”

The MTA first announced plans to eventually take over the site last October — and the community was quick to respond. An online petition, created to “preserve Long Beach Taxi at the train station,” garnered 132 signatures. Now, with the news of the taxi stand’s impending removal, public support again swelled across social media. Nearly 400 comments in multiple Facebook posts discussed the upcoming changes, with many residents critical of the proposed changes.

“People of all ages need and depend on the taxis to get to all kinds of appointments, including medical appointments and so much more,” Donna Piscano Brown, a Point Lookout resident, wrote. Christina Tisi-Kramer, of Long Beach, suggested an alternative to create a better first impression for visitors arriving on a train. “I think those cabs should be parked up Riverside Boulevard and [lining] the street by the bus stop,” she wrote. “That space could be used to welcome people into our community and as an informational hub or a place to sit and rest while you’re waiting for a train.”

The elimination of the taxi stand comes shortly after the company benefited from action by the city. In early June, the City Council approved the cab company’s first fare increase in more than 15 years. Later that month, as part of Long Beach’s ongoing $600,000 roadway safety action plan, the sidewalk in front of the stand was replaced, and the parking area was improved with easy-access curb cuts and prominent lanes to ensure pedestrian safety at cab entry and exit points.