HRA Hearing on the Proposed Amendments to Chapter 12 of Title 68 of the Rules of the City of New York Regarding the Fair Fares NYC Program
Good morning, I’m Brian Fritsch, Associate Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, PCAC. For nearly 50 years, PCAC has served as the official, independent voice of riders on the MTA system.
Thank you for holding today’s hearing. I want to start with a huge thank you to Speaker Menin, General Welfare Chair Hudson, and Mayor Mamdani for reaching an agreement that led to today’s proposed rule changes.
PCAC has long believed in the potential and promise of the Fair Fares program — it can save NYC’s neediest up to $910 per year on their transportation, encourage people to get around their city more sustainably, and open doors of economic opportunity with more access to schools, jobs, recreation, and more. At the same time, we have been equally frustrated to see it hampered by an overly restrictive eligibility threshold and an excessively bureaucratic enrollment process, which have limited its usefulness.
Today, PCAC wholeheartedly supports and celebrates the Council and Mayor for taking a major step forward in making this vital program accessible to over 340,000 New Yorkers, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, by raising the eligibility threshold to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).
We are equally excited to see HRA waive the renewal requirement for program participants who enrolled while receiving public assistance and continue to receive public assistance.
We were appalled to hear at the May 6th City Council hearing that nearly 50 percent of Fair Fares enrollees are dropped from the program each year for an extended period because HRA has made renewal so difficult. Streamlining this process to allow them to show income verification from other sources HRA already has is a sorely needed common-sense reform. Thank you for including it in this package.
I will note that as strongly as we approve of today’s two critical changes, we are not done. PCAC looks forward to HRA’s next rule change hearing, when we expect Chair Hudson’s bill, Intro. 248, to be implemented after the mayor signs it. The bill will streamline the initial enrollment process and encourage HRA to do more to build a robust list and do substantial outreach to New Yorkers who are likely eligible. Currently, only about 35% of the 1 million-plus eligible New Yorkers are enrolled in the program, so there is clear room for improvement.
To unlock the full potential of the Fair Fares program, we would still like to see the program expanded to 300% of the FPL, make it fully free for households under 150% of the FPL, introduce half-priced fares on MTA Express Buses and for CityTickets on the LIRR and Metro-North railroads within New York City, as well as Access-a-Ride for qualifying seniors, and push for fully Automatic Enrollment. We can and should do more.
Thank you again for holding this hearing and for the opportunity to testify today. With each step we take to improve the Fair Fares program, we are moving it from a good idea to one that will transform how New Yorkers get around their city.