Good afternoon, I’m Henry Mei, Research and Advocacy Intern at the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, PCAC. For nearly 50 years, PCAC has served as the official voice of riders on the MTA system. Thank you, Chair Lee, for the opportunity to testify. 

Fair Fares can literally change people’s lives. It expands access to jobs, education, and more, but far too few people qualify under the stringent eligibility threshold: if you make minimum wage, you make too much. 

My family’s story is emblematic of this problem. There are three people in my household: myself – a part-time intern, my mother – a home health aide, and my father – recently retired. We are a quintessentially working-class New York family, and yet we take home too much annual income to qualify for Fair Fares.  
 
You can change this. We are asking the mayor to unlock its full potential by: 

1.      Expanding Fair Fares to 300% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) 

2.      Making it fully free for households under 150% of the FPL  

3.      Expanding half-fares to Express Buses and CityTickets on the railroads    

4.      Implementing Automatic Enrollment and 

5.      Expanding half-fares for qualifying Paratransit users aged 65 and older 

In my part of Queens alone, the 25^th Council District, over 54,000 people would qualify for Fair Fares under these changes – that’s almost 35 percent of the district. Over 30,000 of my neighbors would be eligible to ride transit for free. I am testifying today not just for myself, but for my mom, who takes the bus every day to care for her elderly client, and for all of us in the five boroughs who depend on transit yet feel its burden on our tight budgets.      

As the council’s excellent oversight hearing last month brought to light, HRA badly needs to reform its enrollment and renewal processes to increase participation. Around 200,000 New Yorkers receiving other HRA benefits are not receiving Fair Fares, depriving them of up to $910 per year in transit savings.   

An abysmal 50 percent of enrollees drop out of Fair Fares each year due to how difficult HRA makes it to renew.  PCAC will do everything we can to ensure automatic enrollment and renewal is passed and implemented. 

Thank you again for making Fair Fares a priority this year. With your help, we can change Fair Fares from just a good idea into one that will transform how New Yorkers get around their city. 

The post Expanding Fair Fares Can Deliver Affordability Now appeared first on PCAC.

The critical importance of the Long Island Rail Road to Long Islanders became crystal clear over the course of the strike and the days leading up to it. The role the Rail Road plays in moving hundreds of thousands of daily commuters – and to the region’s economy – cannot be over- or under-stated. In the days leading up to 12:01am on May 16, riders wondered if they would be able to get to work, appointments, graduations, school, and to see the Mets, Yankees and Knicks. At the beginning and end of the day, people just want to get where they’re going and home again. 

To MTA, LIRR, and union leadership, and especially Governor Hochul: You collectively got it done and we thank you. From all we’ve heard, you came to consensus on a contract that is in the best interest of the entire region, that doesn’t break the bank, helps bridge the affordability gap for workers, and won’t increase fares or reduce service for riders. We also hope the Board will vote to pro-rate refunds for the entirety of missed service, including the weekend.  

A tremendous shout-out also goes to the rock stars, like Charlie Zhen, who organized the buses and teams that staffed them, working long hours in the hot sun and behind the scenes. We were happy to join them in the mornings, and also to be on the first train from Jamaica to Atlantic Terminal yesterday. And the workers couldn’t have been happier to see riders return. 

As the official voice of riders, please know that PCAC and LIRRCC appreciate you all. 

Even as this consumed much of our focus, other important issues moved ahead this month – like the city budget cycle, where Speaker Menin and the Council continued to fight for expanding and improving Fair Fares. We are committed to working with them for increasing and expanding eligibility, and automatic enrollment. Let’s make Fair Fares more fair for more people. 

Thank you.  

The post MTA Board Testimony- Expressing Appreciation for the End of Strike and All Who Made it Happen, and Hope for Expanded Fair Fares in NYC Budget appeared first on PCAC.

Good afternoon, 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 voice of riders on the MTA system. A huge thank you to Speaker Menin, General Welfare Chair Hudson, and Majority Leader and Transportation Chair Abreufor holding this hearing today and continuing to prioritize expanding this program, improving equitable access to affordable transit for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers.

At no point since the Great Depression has affordability been so vital to so many New York City residents. As the MTA recently noted, transit plays a huge role in that complicated equation, and one of the very few ways New York City is more affordable than other parts of the country. Yet we can do so much more.

First launched in 2019, Fair Fares offers half-fare subway, bus, and paratransit rides to low-income New Yorkers ages 18-64, and is a crucial lifeline of affordability for over 360,000 currently enrolled individuals. The program began in 2019 with an income limit of 100% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) and was expanded incrementally to 120% in 2023, 145% in 2024, and 150% in 2025, following staunch advocacy from our organizations and partnership with the city and MTA. The city currently allocates just over $96 million in baseline funding to the Fair Fares program.

The Fair Fares program can literally change people’s lives. It offers an unparalleled opportunity to expand access to opportunity, jobs, education, and more, but far too few people qualify under the currently too-low eligibility threshold: if you make minimum wage, you almost certainly make too much. Too few of the people who do qualify are enrolled, and that’s a lost opportunity: New Yorkers who could be saving up to $910 per year in transit costs are instead getting nothing at all. 

As we discussed in more detail in our report from December of last year, Universal Affordable Transit for New York, no other city program has the power to improve transportation equity – and lives – while simultaneously addressing our city’s affordability crisis. Even if our buses and paratransit become free, millions of struggling New Yorkers will still need to use the subway. Last year, over 65% of taps from Fair Fares users were on the subway. Fair Fares also helps riders avoid fare evasion by ensuring fewer riders are unable to pay, and comes as the MTA is about to begin testing new fare gates that will make it much harder to avoid paying.

For these reasons, we believe it’s time to unlock the full potential of the Fair Fares program with the five program changes:

1.      Expand Fair Fares to 300% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) (individual- $46,950, four-person household- $96,450). This would allow an estimated 2.1 million New Yorkers to participate in the program at 300% of the FPL, including minimum wage workers, for the first time.
Additional Cost beyond the FY26 baseline: ~$125 – $155 million

2.      Fully free for households under 150% of the FPL (individual- $23,475, four-person household- $48,225). This would allow for an estimated 1.3 million New Yorkers to have unlimited access to subway, bus, and paratransit service. Deepening affordability is essential to the riders who need it most.                          
Additional Cost beyond the FY26 baseline: ~$150 – $175 million

3.      Expand Fair Fares with half-priced fares on MTA Express Buses and CityTickets on the LIRR and Metro-North railroads within New York City, drastically reducing commute times for tens of thousands of New Yorkers in subway deserts.                                                     

4.      Automatic Enrollment of qualified households to improve the current enrollment rate. Currently, only around a third of eligible households are enrolled, a dismal amount. According to a new survey from the Community Service Society of New York, automatic enrollment could boost program uptake by 50% to around 570,000 enrollees, immediately unlocking benefits for nearly 200,000 New Yorkers who already qualify for another Human Resources Administration (HRA)-administered program.

5.      Close program loopholes, such as on Access-a-Ride for qualifying seniors, who currently pay half fare as program participants until age 64 and then pay full fare at age 65.

The Fair Fares Program is that tool, but it’s been underutilized and consistently overlooked. Currently, only an estimated 35-40% of the over 1 million eligible New Yorkers are enrolled in the program, and as a result, it is chronically underfunded.

HRA needs to step up and develop a plan to reduce the hurdles low-income New Yorkers face in getting enrolled. We believe now is the time to pursue automatic enrollment in this program, which could double enrollment and give New Yorkers a much more affordable way to get to jobs, education, appointments, and more.

Thank you again for holding this hearing, prioritizing the Fair Fares program in the council’s budget, and for the opportunity to testify today. With the Council’s help, we believe we can, in this year’s budget, turn the Fair Fares program from a good idea into one that will transform how New Yorkers get around their city.

The post Fair Fares Has the Power to Transform New York Transportation appeared first on PCAC.

Nobody wants a strike. It would be exceptionally tough on workers, riders, the MTA and LIRR, and the regional economy.  

At PCAC, we do not take sides on the MTA’s labor-related matters, but we will stand up for the needs of riders in any situation. And many Long Island residents, including nurses, teachers, construction workers, and more, do not have the option to work from home, even if traveling to their jobs will be arduous. We agree with you that the best thing to do is not go on strike, so you don’t have to find contingency plans for all the daily commuters, not to mention upcoming weekend warriors. But those who fail to plan, etc.  

If there is a strike next month, riders cannot be left in the lurch. They cannot be collateral damage in this calamity. There must be a clear and reasonable way to get people to and from key points in both Nassau and Suffolk counties into New York City and back home without the railroad. 

We know the highways can’t carry over a quarter of a million additional people, and we do not expect the effort to be perfect, but it should at least be much more robust and comprehensive than the contingency plan presented last September, when only Bellmore, Hicksville, and Ronkonkoma were offered as shuttle bus locations into the city. Wars will be waged over parking. 

NICE bus will be able to pick up some slack for some Nassau commuters to get to key subway points in Queens, but we urge the railroad to be prepared with more sites across Long Island with ample parking, maximizing the number of essential workers and riders who simply don’t have any other choice but to get to their jobs or the crucial appointments they might have. 

Again, it is our sincere hope that an agreement is reached in time, but in the event it isn’t, we hope the railroad will do its utmost to still get people where they must go. Thank you.  

The post Contingency Planning will Avert Collateral Calamity- LIRR/Metro-North Joint Committee Testimony appeared first on PCAC.

Good morning, I’m Brian Fritsch, Associate Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, PCAC.

We recently released a new report, called Ridership Returns, analyzing the changing commuting patterns on the subway post-congestion pricing. Using travel data from the MTA’s open data program, we found that subway ridership grew by 7.7% in 2025, double the 3.7% growth seen in 2024, showing a strong bounce back a year after slowing post-pandemic growth. Growth in discretionary travel is outpacing weekday rush hour growth, showing riders are choosing transit even when they have other options.

In short, the data in the report is clear: Congestion Pricing is working! It’s yet another line on the long list of successes for the program, which also includes some recent legal victories against Secretary Duffy.

We hope and expect we will soon add another legal win over the Feds on Second Avenue Subway funding, and are glad the board is keeping the project moving.

We were also thrilled to hear about the RFP for almost 2,400 new subway cars, the MTA’s largest ever order. We look forward to enhanced security and accessibility features, as well as lighter, more energy-efficient rolling stock.

We also can’t wait to try out the upgraded MTA app and look forward to the forthcoming updates to better integrate OMNY transactions and the railroads.

Ending today with three quick points of caution: First, we are pushing the NYCDOE to work harder to help get digital OMNY cards off the ground. Students deserve an OMNY card that they can rely on.

Second, we are strongly opposed to any efforts to dismantle or create unworkable loopholes in the MTA’s ACE program, and released a memo against one such effort in the State Legislature.

Third, we are very concerned about Amtrak’s lack of transparency around the Penn Station project. It seems like the master developer will be picked in around a month with almost no meaningful public input. Thank you.

The post Ridership Returns! MTA Board Testimony appeared first on PCAC.

March 23, 2026 

Good morning! I’m Kara Gurl, Planning and Advocacy Manager at the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA (PCAC).  

First, thank you to the transit workers who kept us moving on Transit Employee Appreciation Day and every day. This was a particularly brutal winter for train service, and we’re thankful that riders were largely able to get around through the storms.  

But this winter, many Metro-North riders reported an abrupt change in the way that trains pulled into the stations—what we’ve now learned is called “Universal Train Spotting.” While riders may have previously waited for the train in the same spot on the platform every day, trains are now pulling all the way up to the front of the platform, shaking up the way that commuters show up for and wait for their trains. We’ve also heard reports of this happening on the LIRR more recently. 

We’re sure that there’s a reason for this policy change to ensure that trains are arriving in stations in a standardized way, but it’s important to communicate with riders in advance or in tandem with any decision that will impact their commutes. Consistency in where trains stop at stations makes sense, but the abrupt change left riders running up slippery platforms when the train no longer arrived at the spot where they’re used to catching it. As with all policy changes, riders can adapt if you clearly explain why changes are happening, why it will benefit them, and how they can change their travel behaviors to limit any inconveniences. We do appreciate that you’ve since made some tweaks and released a video explanation to address rider concerns.  

We’re similarly still hearing from riders who miss their ten-trip tickets and lament the loss of flexibility with the new and shorter ticket validity window. Thank you for making some major strides with affordability through the expanded Family Fare to age 17, extended AM peak discount for Senior, disabled, and Medicare-eligible riders, and permanent CityTicket one-way fares—these are all examples of how common-sense fare policy can help attract more people onto transit, and we hope to see detailed ticket sales data on the Open Data portal in the coming months. Thank you. 

The post Thanking Transit Workers, Improving Commutes appeared first on PCAC.

Good afternoon, I’m Brian Fritsch, Associate Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, PCAC.

We were thrilled to hear about the RFP for 2,390 subway cars, the MTA’s largest ever order and a key part of the 2025-29 capital plan. The R62 and R62As have served the MTA and riders well, but we’re very excited about the enhanced security and accessibility features, the push for lighter rolling stock to make the trains more energy-efficient, and more trains with an open gangway design to add capacity and make subway surfing nearly impossible. Replacing over 36% of the fleet is a huge endeavor, and we look forward to hearing more about the final design choices.

The MTA is building, while Washington tries to halt infrastructure investment and kill jobs. Their refusal to honor the Full Funding Grant Agreement for the Second Avenue Subway is a farce, and we applaud Governor Hochul and the MTA for taking the Feds to court. You’d think, at this point, after congestion pricing, counterterrorism funding, and the Gateway Program, Secretary Duffy would be tired of losing funding fights and lawsuits with New York, but here we are again. As we told Jose Martinez of the City, “this crap is getting old.” We hope for a quick and clear resolution.

Finally, we’re looking forward to the updates on the OMNY transition today. We’ve heard from our members and riders who feel the system has made immense reliability improvements over the last half year. We’re also pleased to hear that more customer-facing enhancements are on the way, including integration with the MTA app and critical info on reader screens that riders have asked for. We also are pushing the NYCDOE to work harder to help get digital OMNY cards off the ground. Students deserve an OMNY card that they can rely on.

Thank you.

The post New Rolling Stock, 2nd Ave Lawsuit, and OMNY appeared first on PCAC.

Last week, we released an encouraging report on the changing commuting patterns on the subway post-congestion pricing. Using travel data from the MTA’s open data program, we found that subway ridership grew by 7.7% in 2025, double the 3.7% growth seen in 2024, showing a strong bounce back a year after slowing post-pandemic growth.  

The report found that system-wide discretionary rides on the weekend grew by 9.4%, showing that weekend ridership growth continued to outpace weekday ridership, especially outside Manhattan. 

We identified 39 stations that saw ridership grow more than 20% in 2025, that is something to celebrate. Additionally, the Bedford Ave L station saw 555,760 more rides on the weekends in 2025, more than any other in the system.  

The data is clear: Congestion Pricing is working! We hope the agency will continue to support the ever-increasing number of frequent riders through enhanced fare incentives and programs that continue to make transit the most affordable way to get around our city and region. 

Also of note, PCAC testified last week at City Council Budget hearings about the long overdue expansion of the Fair Fares program and the need for NYC DOT to meet the legal mandates of the Streets Plan and to make it easier for the MTA to achieve faster and more reliable bus service. PCAC has also strongly opposed any efforts to dismantle or create unworkable loopholes in the MTA’s ACE program, and released a memo against one such effort to the state legislature last week. We believe ACE is essential as it increases bus speeds by 5% and reduces collisions by 20%. 

Thank you for your time. 

The post NYCT Committee Meeting Testimony- Ridership Growth Post Congestion Pricing appeared first on PCAC.

Good afternoon, 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 voice of riders on the MTA system.

Just over a month ago, we organized a letter from a broad range of unions, transit and disability rights advocates, social and immigrant service organizations, and community and good government groups who believe City Hall can make transit affordability a reality in this year’s budget by transforming the Fair Fares program.

Our five-point plan includes expanding eligibility to at least 300% of the federal poverty level–to finally include workers making at or close to the minimum wage–fully free fares for the lowest-income New Yorkers at the current level of 150%; and adding the commuter railroads and express buses as options. The program also needs automatic enrollment, as only a dismal third of eligible New Yorkers are enrolled. 

In addition to Fair Fares, we have been ardent supporters of faster and more reliable bus service across the city. We urge you and Mayor Mamdani to work together to better fund DOT so the agency can actually meet the legal mandates of the Streets Plan and to make it easier, not harder, for DOT to build bus lanes and busways.

We also believe a Bus Rapid Transit network starting with one or two world-class routes as a proof of concept, will serve as a North star for what it could mean to deliver world class service, which our world class city – and its riders – deserve. We look forward to working with you, the Mamdani Administration and our colleagues in advocacy to make BRT in NYC a reality. That means installing protected bus lanes aligned to the center of streets, transit signal priority, left turn bans and queue jumps, and building accessible BRT stations with level boarding.

Two final key issues: First, we strongly oppose any efforts, be it from the Council or State Legislature, to dismantle or create unworkable loopholes in the MTA’s Automated Camera Enforcement program or ACE. ACE is essential as it increases bus speeds by 5% and reduces collisions by 20%. Second, we also hope the city will work with the MTA to ensure the agency has enough bus depot capacity to provide frequent and reliable service. As we work to create the excellent bus service this city deserves, depot space is a critical component that doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

The post Fair Fares + Fast Buses = Transit Success appeared first on PCAC.

Good afternoon, 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 voice of riders on the MTA system.

This past election, New Yorkers delivered a clear call to city government to do everything they can to fight our affordability crisis, a daunting job. But sometimes the right tool to do that work doesn’t need to be bought; it’s right in your toolbox, waiting to be used.

The Fair Fares Program is that tool, but it’s been overlooked. Currently, only an estimated 35% of the over 1 million eligible New Yorkers are enrolled in the program, and as a result, it is chronically underfunded. This means hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who could be saving up to $910 per year in transit costs are instead getting nothing at all. 

HRA needs to step up and develop a plan to reduce the hurdles low-income New Yorkers face in getting enrolled. After all, how many residents are already in the HRA Connect System, are known to be eligible based on income verification for another program, yet are not receiving Fair Fares? Too many. We believe now is the time to pursue automatic enrollment in this program, which could double enrollment and give New Yorkers a much more affordable way to get to jobs, education, appointments, and more. Use the tools you already have in your toolbox. We’d also love to see more data released on existing enrollees, including demographics, locations by council districts, and more.

Just over a month ago, we organized a letter from a broad range of unions, transit and disability rights advocates, social and immigrant service organizations, and community and good government groups who believe City Hall can make transit affordability a reality in this year’s budget by transforming the Fair Fares program.

Our five-point plan includes expanding eligibility to at least 300% of the federal poverty level—to finally include workers making at or near the minimum wage—fully free fares for the lowest-income New Yorkers at the current level of 150%; and adding commuter railroads and express buses as options. Let’s get people to work, with the tools in our bag.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

The post Fair Fares is an Essential Tool to Delivering Affordability appeared first on PCAC.