Good morning, I’m Lisa Daglian, Executive Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, PCAC.
In about three months, the fare changes you vote on today will go into effect. In addition to the biennial increase, which PCAC supports, the new year will bring new discounts and opportunities for riders.
I’m here with thanks and a mea culpa. It’s clear you listened to the many people, including our members, who provided comments. Having one way railroad tickets expire at 4 a.m. addresses significant issues riders had. Bringing down the increase of a weekly cap on transit to less than 3% is a good deal. So is making the rolling fare cap permanent, and holding West-of-Hudson fares flat.
We’re thrilled that seniors, disabled and Medicare-eligible riders will be able to use their discounts on the railroads at all times, including the morning peak. The new ‘mid-kid’ Family Fare will afford 12–17-year-olds the ability to ride with an adult for $1, encouraging riding over driving to games, shows and days of fun. That makes it a no brainer to get onboard rather than into a car.
These are common sense affordability policies that we have long advocated for, and we appreciate that you are about to make them reality. The mea culpa is that you had already moved in this direction when we publicly called for you to do so last week. In the spirit of the upcoming holiday, I atone for that.
Of course, we’ll continue to advocate for a CityTicket Weekly, with transfers to subways and buses, and for increasing Fair Fares to at least 200% of the Federal Poverty Level and expanding it to the railroads within the city.
And we do lament the demise of the ten-trip on the railroads. The loss of the off-peak discount is significant. We have similar concerns about the loss of the 30-day option for transit, which some of transit’s most dedicated riders depend on.
Overall, these are wins for riders and for the region. As many New Yorkers just started the new year 5786, we also look forward to 2026, when some great changes will get underway.