PCAC releases new report detailing program’s citywide potential
With affordability top of mind, working New Yorkers earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level urge Mayor Adams to support a 50% discount on transit
New York – With affordability and livability key issues for New Yorkers, Speaker Adams, Council Members, transit riders, and advocates rallied at City Hall to call for the expansion of Fair Fares to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) in the forthcoming city budget. Fair Fares has become an indispensable program for over 360,000 subway and bus riders since its launch in 2019, providing eligible riders with half-off subway and bus fares.
In June 2024, city leaders expanded the program’s eligibility to people living at 145% of FPL, yet the change didn’t take effect until late 2024. However, at this level, which is $22,692 for an individual or $46,617 for a family of four, over 415,000 low-income New Yorkers – including many of those working long hours for minimum wage – continue to be ineligible.
Analysis from a just-released report by the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA (PCAC), entitled What Expanding Fair Fares Means to Riders: Mapping transit affordability for 415,000 New Yorkers, shows that by expanding Fair Fares to 200% of the FPL from 145%, the City has the opportunity to make over 415,000 more New Yorkers eligible for the program, including 160,000 regular commuters. PCAC’s report maps out how significant the benefits of expansion would be for residents in communities across the city, particularly outside of Manhattan.
The Council and the Mayoral Administration baselined $75 million in funding for the program in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget and over $12.5 million in additional funding in Fiscal Year 2025 to increase eligibility from 120% to 145%. The Council and advocates are calling for raising eligibility to 200% of the FPL as the NYC budget cycle comes to a close on June 30.
“New Yorkers are facing an affordability crisis that is pushing them to the brink, and it’s our responsibility to alleviate the pressures caused by rising costs,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “Working together with advocates and straphangers, the Council is proud to have secured additional investments year after year that increase New Yorkers’ access to Fair Fares’ discounted bus and subway rides. Yet, too many families are still unable to access our public transportation system. The Council continues to push for this critical program to reach New Yorkers living up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, because it can unlock expanded opportunity in every corner of our city that strengthens our communities and economy.”
“Since the first findings from our Unheard Third survey showed one in four low-income New Yorkers struggling with transit affordability, the Community Service Society of New York (CSS) has been advocating for making our mass transit system more affordable and accessible to working-class New Yorkers who rely on it the most,” said David R. Jones, President and CEO, Community Service Society of New York. “Our mass transit system is the economic life-blood of the city. Making it more affordable and accessible to working class New Yorkers should be a no-brainer. At 145 percent of federal poverty, the current eligibility threshold for the Fair Fares program excludes more than 400,000 mass transit dependent low-income New Yorkers. It’s time to unlock the potential of Fair Fares to be the transformative program we always envisioned. To do that, we must expand the program’s income threshold to 200 percent of poverty, so that more New Yorkers can take advantage of it.”
“The Fair Fares program has the power to improve transportation equity–and lives–while simultaneously addressing our city’s affordability crisis, and we thank Speaker Adams and the City Council for continuing to push for expanding the program,” said Brian Fritsch, Associate Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA. “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. Minimum wage workers deserve to be included in this program, as do others struggling to make ends meet in one of the most expensive cities in the world.”
“Fair Fares is a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers but too many riders barely making ends meet are shut out entirely,” said Danna Dennis, Senior Organizer, Riders Alliance. “Even with last year’s expansion, the program isn’t close to fulfilling its promise or reaching nearly enough struggling families. Riders thank Speaker Adams and our partners at the Community Service Society and Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA for their steadfast support. We urge Mayor Adams to get on board and increase eligibility to 200% of the poverty line now.”
“Expanding Fair Fares to 200% of the federal poverty level is a commonsense step toward a more just and affordable New York City,” said Natasha Elder, NYPIRG Regional Director of the Straphangers Campaign. “Transit is a public good, and our city cannot claim to be equitable while low-income riders are priced out of the system they rely on every day. The data is clear: hundreds of thousands of hardworking New Yorkers are being left behind. Mayor Adams must act now to ensure Fair Fares reaches those who need it most.”
According to PCAC’s Report, the benefits of Fair Fares expansion to 200% of the FPL include:
- Over 415,000 New Yorkers will become eligible for the program, including over 160,000 regular commuters.
- 42 of 51 Council districts would see at least 1,500 more commuters newly eligible for Fair Fares.
- Every Senate district outside of central Manhattan would see at least 2,500 commuters become newly eligible.
- The majority of Upper Manhattan and Assembly districts outside of Manhattan would see at least 2,000 newly eligible commuters.
- The Bronx will see the greatest per capita increase, as an additional 10.17% of the 18-64 year old population will become eligible for Fair Fares. Queens and Brooklyn are second and third, at 8.46% and 8.25% respectively.
- Brooklyn will see the greatest increase in total population over those now eligible for Fair Fares at nearly 134,000 people, followed by Queens at 123,000, The Bronx at 86,000, Manhattan at 54,000, and Staten Island at 20,000.
- An expansion of the program would have the greatest impact on working-class neighborhoods, including Sunset Park, Brownsville, Flushing, Elmhurst/Jackson Heights, Morrisania, Inwood, the Rockaways, and Highbridge.
- New York’s Fair Fares program has the most restrictive income requirements nationally, despite being the metro area with the highest cost of living and having the highest poverty rates of major cities with income-based fare discount programs.