Cicely Harris, NYCTRC Member
August 20, 2025
Good evening. My name is Cicely Harris, and I’m a member of the New York City Transit Riders Council.
I appreciate the opportunity to comment tonight. Nobody likes fare increases, but I also know the MTA needs steady, moderate funding to keep our system running.
Still, we’re in the middle of a real affordability crisis, and riders especially low-income New Yorkers and frequent users need targeted relief. To do that, we should support:
· Creating a 30-day fare cap to make up for the discontinuation of the 30-day unlimited MetroCard, which could amount to a fare hike of up to 18% for some riders.
· Build on the success of the CityTicket by adding a weekly CityTicket cap that includes transfers to subways and buses—similar to the $67 cap already proposed for express bus riders.
· Expanding the Fair Fares Program to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level as an absolute minimum. This would allow an additional 400,000 New Yorkers, including many minimum wage workers, to qualify. An additional expansion to include the railroads within the city and Express Buses would also bring relief to people with some of the city’s longest commutes.
· Unifying New York City’s fare zones between Metro-North and the LIRR to make travel around the city as seamless as the new connection at Grand Central can be.
Fare increases are hard and financial instability is real. But if they’re paired with intentional equitable changes and the right incentives, they can be made fairer and more manageable for the people who depend on transit the most. Thank you.