In a collaborative public effort, transit advocates and local elected officials are once again calling on Mayor Adams to expand the limit for a city program known as Fair Fares, which offers half-off subway and bus rides to lower-income New Yorkers.
They are demanding that the discount be offered to those making less than twice the federal poverty line to match the increased cost of living for residents.
Currently, the eligibility for Fair Fares is pegged to the poverty line, which the federal government revises every year. Yet, transit advocates and officials agree that the countrywide benchmark for poverty falls short of the mark given the city’s comparatively steeps costs.
If the eligibility were raised to also accommodate those making less than double the limit, 650,000 more people would become eligible for the Fair Fares program, according to a report from the Permanent Citizen’s Advisory Committee to the MTA, expected to be published on Tuesday.
“As the cost of living has gone up, the eligibility for Fair Fares has not gone up,” Lisa Daglian, head of the PCAC , told the Daily News. When the program was started in 2019, eligibility was set at those making 100% of the federal poverty level or less, which at the time meant a family of four making less than $27,750 a year.
After City Speaker Adrienne Adams and numerous advocates fought for the threshold to be raised, eligibility was moderately increased, becoming accessible to New Yorkers who made 120% of the federal poverty level or less. This currently reaches a maximum annual income of $37,440 for a family of four in the five boroughs or $18,072 for an individual.
However, many argue this still doesn’t reach enough low-income workers who are struggling to get by, and for the second year in a row, advocates and various elected officials are expected to lobby Mayor Adams for the funding to expand the Fair Fares program. The proposed funding seeks to include those making 200% of the poverty level or less, which is $62,400 for a family of four or $30,120 for an individual.
If approved, the program would benefit considerable portions of the populations across the five boroughs, reaching hundreds of thousands people who may not be considered impoverished but are lower income workers and residents who depend on subways and buses for transportation.
