Outside of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) headquarters last week, a group of transit advocates rallied against proposed bus and subway fare hikes. They demanded an expansion of the Fair Fares program ahead of the city’s public hearings on the issue.
“People are out here penny pinching. They’re struggling. They are literally rubbing their dimes and nickels together to get on transit,” said Rider’s Alliance Senior Organizer Danna Dennis.
Basically, a train and bus fare in New York City will go up 15 cents, from $2.75 to $2.90.
Other increases include: the 7-Day Unlimited MetroCard going up to $34, the 30-Day Unlimited up from $127 to $132, the express bus will go from $6.75 to $7, and the 7-Day Unlimited Express Bus Pass would increase from $62 to $64. There will also be increases to Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North tickets.
The Fair Fares program is a city program currently that offers a 50% discount on subway and eligible bus fares for people making at or below the federal poverty line. This means that right now you’d have to make $14,580 in a single-person household to qualify for a reduced fare MetroCard. Dennis and others are demanding that the program eligibility be expanded to include incomes at 200% of the federal poverty level, which would be closer to $36,420.
Dennis said that crippling MTA issues, like fare evasion and homelessness, are “crimes of poverty.” She doesn’t advocate that people steal fares at all, but that people pay what they can afford within their means which the fair fares program can help do.
Jerome Nathaniel, director of policy and government relations at City Harvest, added that according to a 2023 City Harvest and United Way study that analyzes the “true cost of living” in the city, about 50% of working residents cannot adequately pay for housing, food, health care, and transportation due to the affordability crisis. “That’s 3 million working age New Yorkers that can’t afford the cost of food or transportation,” said Nathaniel, “so they’re trying to decide between food or a MetroCard.”
The study also found that across different types of families, educational backgrounds, and occupations, Black and brown people are more likely to lack higher incomes due to latent impacts of a systemic and racist structure. Nathaniel said fair fares are a viable solution to making the city more affordable to live in.
MTA leadership has held four public hearings on the proposed fare and toll hikes. The increases are meant to keep up with inflation and were paused briefly during the COVID-19 pandemic, they said. This year Governor Kathy Hochul’s state budget approved a 4% in fares and 5.5% in tolls increase every other year to help with revenue costs.
In the hearings, MTA leadership said that the increases are there to help balance the budget over time fairly. They also touted their Fair Fares program as a discounted solution for low-income commuters, but didn’t mention an expansion.
Obviously the fare hikes are a mixed bag among commuters. Some in the hearings were appalled and some were, in fact, in support. Many that signed up to testify had more questions than comments about how this would affect them.
Christy Tolbert, a commuter from Long Island who represented the LIRR Commuter council, said in the public hearing that no one likes increases but people can understand maintaining quality service and supported caps on increases at 6%. “Without investment in this year’s budget riders will be facing far greater fare hikes and potential service cuts,” said Tolbert.
Nicholas Reyes, male state committee member for Assembly District 68, was definitely not in favor. He adamantly said that it was “disgusting” to offload a faulty system’s costs on the backs of everyday riders in the city.
“I come from an underserved community,” he said in the hearings. “To impose any kind of fare increase does not make sense with the current infrastructure of our trains [and buses] and I just wonder how many people who are responsible for these fare hikes actually take the train because if you did you’d know how absurd this sounds.”
A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams said that the enrollment for the Fair Fares program has steadily increased since its inception and has historically been “underutilized.” She said that the city has never spent more than $75 million currently allocated for the program. The city is looking to do more outreach, education, and increasing enrollment for Fair Fares, she said.
Rightsizing a budget to meet demand doesn’t mean fewer people are taking advantage of a program, said the spokesperson.
“We want as many New Yorkers as possible to take advantage of Fair Fares and we will evaluate additional needs through the budget process,” said the mayor’s spokesperson. “As for proposed fare hikes, the state budget included a funding package for the MTA to stabilize its finances, but also to enhance services, establish a fare-free bus pilot, and lower the proposed fare increase. We applaud those rider-centric enhancements, and while the decision on increased fares is ultimately up to the MTA board, we encourage the board to focus on fare products that will not disproportionately impact low-income riders and essential workers.”
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.