Testimony of the New York City Transit Riders Council
to the Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
on the Proposed Freedom Ticket Pilot Program
Board Room, MTA Headquarters, 2 Broadway, New York, NY
January 25, 2017
Good morning, my name is Bradley Brashears and I am a transportation planner at the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA.
On behalf of the New York City Transit Rider’s Council, the PCAC is here today to once again speak for Freedom Ticket — an exciting proposal that we hope and believe has your full support.
As an example of the impact that Freedom Ticket will have on thousands of riders: It can now take up to two hours to get from southeast Queens to lower Manhattan by bus and subway.
With Freedom ticket, that time will be reduced by more than forty minutes each way.
That’s an hour and a half saved. And that’s a lot of time.
From the operational side, Freedom Ticket riders will be filling empty, non-revenue-producing seats in an underutilized corridor — which is why Eric Adams is now a strong supporter, because of the value to Brooklyn.
In fact, though, the Freedom Ticket can potentially benefit the entire city. So we are asking that the MTA
• First, move forward with the pilot program to be designed by April-May, and implemented by September.
• Second, strongly market the Freedom Ticket to people riding in the pilot stations; and
• Third, report to the board at the 3-5 month mark to ensure complete transparency
Finally, when the pilot program is successfully completed, we hope and expect that Freedom Ticket continues to advance and move into its next phase.
Thank You.
Download here: 012517 NYCTRC Freedom Ticket