The Big Apple is taking a significant step towards making public transit more affordable. In a landmark decision, New York City has expanded its Fair Fares program, offering half-priced subway, bus, and paratransit trips to an additional 340,000 residents. This expansion is part of the city’s recently approved $125.8 billion budget, which aims to make life more affordable for low-income New Yorkers.
The Fair Fares program, which was initially launched in 2019, provides a 50% discount on MetroCard fares for New Yorkers living at or below 150% of the federal poverty level. With this expansion, the eligibility threshold has been raised to 200% of the federal poverty level, making the program accessible to a larger number of residents. This means that individuals making up to $31,920 a year and families of four making up to $66,000 annually can now qualify for the benefit.
Expanding Access to Affordable Transit
The expansion of the Fair Fares program is a significant victory for transit and anti-poverty advocates who have long argued that the cost of public transit is a barrier to economic mobility. According to City Council Speaker Julie Menin the expansion is the largest in the program’s history and will make public transit more affordable for nearly 1.3 million working New Yorkers.
“This is the largest expansion of Fair Fares in council history,” Menin said during a City Hall news conference. “Specifically, that means for nearly 1.3 million working New Yorkers, we are making public transit more affordable. These are New Yorkers who rely on subway, buses, and paratransit to get to work in the morning. To make it to school on time. To access all kinds of opportunities.”
The Role of Mayor Zohran Mamdani
Mayor Zohran Mamdani who has been a vocal advocate for making buses free, agreed to fund the expansion of Fair Fares. During the news conference, Mamdani said that the expansion is in line with his broader vision for making buses free. “We raised this Fair Fares eligibility to an historic amount,” Mamdani said. “And we do that while delivering buses that are not only fast, but also free. And that is part of our medium-term vision, our long-term vision…We can believe and fight for these things all at the same time.”
The Path to Expansion
The agreed-upon expansion is the result of various proposals for growing Fair Fares this budget cycle. These proposals came from the council itself, a coalition of transit and anti-poverty advocates, and the fiscally conservative Citizens Budget Commission. The final deal slightly differs from what the council proposed in its April response to Mamdani’s January preliminary budget plan.
The council’s original proposal called for making Fair Fares free to those making up to 150% of the federal poverty level, which would have covered everyone who was currently eligible at the time. However, the council ultimately chose the current path because it reaches more people who are riding transit more often.
Advocates’ Reactions
Advocates were pushing for an even larger increase, calling for both the council’s original proposal and for half-fare trips to be available to those earning between 150% and 300% of the federal poverty level. However, Brian Fritsch associate director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, said that although the deal was not everything advocates wanted, it is still a “really good step in the right direction.”
“It’s something we’ve been calling for years,” Fritsch told amNewYork. “It’s not everything, [but] I think we want to deliver affordability to the people who need it. It won’t include those that are working minimum wage full time, at very least at that level. But it’ll still bring new benefits to a large number of New Yorkers who don’t currently receive it, which is great.”
The Challenge of Participation
Despite the expansion, eligible New Yorkers will still need to seek out and apply for the program, a process that critics argue depresses participation. Currently, only one-third of eligible participants are enrolled in the program. Transit and anti-poverty advocates have called for automatic enrollment, pointing to Philadelphia’s successful income-based free transit pilot program, which saw 60% participation.
A bill from Council Member Crystal Hudson would automatically enroll New Yorkers in any city benefit program for which they’re eligible, including Fair Fares. However, the bill has not yet gained traction. Speaker Menin supports automatic enrollment but is not one of the bill’s co-sponsors.
The expansion of the Fair Fares program is a significant step towards making public transit more affordable for low-income New Yorkers. While there is still work to be done, the expansion is a victory for transit and anti-poverty advocates and a testament to the power of collective action.
