A rainy Monday morning did not stop more than a dozen NYC commuters from rallying on the steps of City Hall to support expanding a popular transportation discount program.
Transit riders and other advocates came together to urge Mayor Eric Adams to expand Fair Fares, a half-off discount program for city trains and buses, to New Yorkers earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL).
Right now, only New Yorkers living at 145% of the FPL are eligible for the discount program, after city leaders increased the eligibility pool in 2024. That number at this level in NYC is $22,692 for a single person or $46,617 for a family of four.
Although the state-run MTA manages NYC’s subways and buses, Fair Fares is a city program that launched in 2019. The rally took place before Monday’s General Welfare Budget Hearing was set to begin inside City Hall, where Fair Fares program administrators from the NYC Human Resources Administration presented to the City Council.
“Expanding the program from 145 to 200% of the FPL would allow 415,000 additional New Yorkers to take part in the program, as well as 160,000 regular commuters,” said Brian Fritsch, associate director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee (PCAC) to the MTA. “We think these are people who would benefit the most from the program. They work or go to school on a regular basis, they’re using the system. They’re certainly not drivers and rely on the subway and buses to get around.”
Fritsch spotlighted that the city’s Fair Fares program has the most restrictive income requirements despite being in the metro area with the highest cost of living and having high poverty rates compared to other cities with similar programs.
If the increase is approved, 42 of the city’s 51 council districts would see at least 1,500 more commuters newly eligible for Fair Fares, according to PCAC.
David Jones, president and CEO of the Community Service Society and an MTA board member, credited the mayor and city council with increasing the eligibility for Fair Fares last year but said it is still not enough for the program to reach its full potential.
“Particularly in this environment where so many people are under pressure from what’s happening in Washington, this is the time to act to help working New Yorkers,” he said.
According to PCAC, if the expansion is approved, 134,000 residents in Brooklyn alone would become eligible for the discount—the most of any borough.
“Fair Fares is a lifeline for low-income commuters, and it’s time that we extend that lifeline even further,” Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso said. “As costs have skyrocketed across the city, Fair Fares has gone a long way to make life more affordable for many New Yorkers living below the federal poverty line, and I have been a proud supporter of expansions to the program.”
City will evaluate ‘necessity and feasibility’ of the expansion
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the NYC Department of Social Serves said the agency is committed to helping eligible New Yorkers keep more of their “hard-earned money in their pocket” when they use public transportation and will “evaluate the necessity and feasibility of additional program expansions” throughout the budget process.
“After the Adams administration expanded Fair Fares income eligibility to 145% of the federal poverty level — the second program expansion in as many years — more low-income and working-class New Yorkers than ever are eligible for half-priced subway and bus fares and Access-A-Ride trips,” the spokesperson said. “To ensure New Yorkers are aware of this critical discount and these new income requirements, we continue to collaborate with our community partners and will soon be implementing a robust social media and advertising campaign to further promote Fair Fares.”
Fair Fairs currently serves about 350,000 people. For more information about the program, visit nyc.gov.
