Good morning, I’m Brian Fritsch, Associate Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, PCAC.
I want to start by sincerely thanking Speaker Adams, Majority Leader Farias, Deputy Speaker Ayala, Majority Whip and Transportation Chair Brooks-Powers, and Budget Chair Brennan, for their leadership and steadfast advocacy for Fair Fares.
Fair Fares has modest price tag that has a major impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of low- to moderate-income New Yorkers. No other city program has the power to improve transportation equity – and lives – while simultaneously addressing our affordability crisis.
The expansion of Fair Fares to 145% of the federal poverty limit will allow 200,000 new NYC residents to take part in the program, which is a huge step in the right direction, and we look forward to assisting to promote the program so that any eligible residents signs up as soon as possible.
But with a new upper bound still under $22,000 for an individual or just over $45,000 for a family of four, is that enough? We believe we can do better.
The working poor, the backbone of our city, deserve more support from us. Our recent study found that expanding Fair Fares to 200% of FPL would expand eligibility to 450,000 more residents who are currently struggling to afford transportation and their other expenses.
We also found that NYC is the least generous of the major U.S. cities offering public transit discounts for low-income residents, despite having the highest cost of living and the highest poverty rates. Nearly all other cities use 200% as their income eligibility limit, and most also offer discounts on their commuter rail systems, which New York City currently does not do. It’s time to change that too, so people who live in subway deserts but are close to the Long Island Rail Road or Metro-North can use their Fair Fares benefits on whichever system is most convenient for them. But none of that will matter if eligibility isn’t raised to 200%.
Transit is the lifeblood of our city, and equitable access to affordable transportation equals economic mobility and opportunity. We will continue to urge the Mayor to step-up and support the expansion of Fair Fares to 200% to ensure that New Yorkers can afford the transit they deserve.