Testimony: Expanding Transit Access and Equity Through Fair Fares

Testimony: Expanding Transit Access and Equity Through Fair Fares

Debipriya Chatterjee

New York City Council Budget and Oversight Hearings on The Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2026

Thank you to Chairperson Ayala and to all the Committee Members for this opportunity.

My name is Debipriya Chatterjee, and I serve as the Senior Economist at the Community Service Society of New York (CSS), an organization dedicated to improving the lives of low-income New Yorkers and championing a more equitable city. For over 180 years, CSS has provided direct services, conducted rigorous research and policy analysis, and led strategic advocacy initiatives to alleviate hardship and expand economic opportunity for those most disadvantaged.

My testimony today will focus on Fair Fares, the City's transit discount program administered by the Department of Social Services (DSS).

Launched five years ago, Fair Fares provides discounted MetroCards to and has been a game-changer for thousands of city residents, connecting them to jobs, training opportunities, medical care, social events, and so much more. Today, nearly 360,000 working age New Yorkers are enrolled in the program, representing a take-up rate of roughly 35 percent from an eligible population of 991,000 individuals.^[1] Recognizing the immense value of the program, the MTA's own Blue Ribbon panel on fare evasion recommended expanding eligibility to 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) as a key strategy to reduce fare evasion.

We applaud the City administration for increasing the income eligibility threshold to 145 percent of the FPL in the FY 2025 Adopted Budget, and for including additional funding for the program. This is important progress from the program's early days, when eligibility was restricted to only those below the Federal Poverty Level-a metric widely recognized as grossly inadequate for capturing economic need in New York City, especially for working New Yorkers who rely on mass transit for their daily commute since they have been pushed to outer-boroughs and most often cannot afford to maintain a vehicle or avail cab service.

However, we urge the city to go further. Transit hardship affects almost everyone below 200 percent of the FPL. In CSS' most recent Annual Survey of Housing and Economic Security, 19 percent of New York City residents reported that they had often been unable to afford transportation in the last year. As cost of living continues to rise-with basic necessities like food and housing more expensive- transportation hardship will also increase.

By including households with incomes between 145 and 200 percent of the FPL, the City could ease transit hardship for an additional 400,000 New Yorkers. Assuming current commuting patterns hold, we estimate this expansion would cost the City between $36 and $40 million-a relatively modest investment in the context of a $115 billion city budget. New York City should follow the lead of much smaller and less affluent municipalities like Boston, Massachusetts, and Raleigh, North Carolina, which have implemented discounted or fare-free public transit programs for residents up to 200 percent of the FPL. We are heartened to see the state Senate one-house budget bills include expansion of discounted fare program to commuter rails and expansion of the fare-free bus pilot program.

Additionally, we have two specific asks for DSS. First, we ask that DSS publicly report disaggregated enrollment data for Fair Fares by race, gender, age, and borough. Such data would help to more effectively target outreach efforts. Second, we ask that DSS share their outreach and awareness strategy for publicizing the program. Transparency around the City's budgeted resources for this purpose and how it plans to spread awareness about Fair Fares would help us better coordinate efforts with community partners, the City, and MTA workers to expand enrollment.

Our survey underscores the need for stronger outreach efforts. Among eligible individuals, 17 percent of Black New Yorkers and 10 percent of Hispanic New Yorkers had not heard of the program. Additionally, 33 percent of Black respondents and 24 percent of Hispanic respondents were aware of the program but had not applied or did not know how to. That's half of eligible Black New Yorkers and a third of eligible Hispanic New Yorkers who could be enrolled but aren't-simply because they haven't heard of the program or don't know how to access it.

For the first time, our survey also asked how people learned about Fair Fares. Most enrollees said they were screened for the program while applying for other benefits like SNAP, public assistance, or Medicaid. The next most effective channels were advertising on buses and subways, followed by TV, radio, internet, and social media. Outreach events organized by DSS or the MTA were among the least effective, likely due to their limited geographic reach.

All this is to say that we need a more comprehensive, citywide outreach strategy, working in partnership with community-based organizations, houses of worship, schools, NYCHA, and CUNY to generate more awareness and enrollment in the program.

If we are serious about expanding opportunity and ensuring all New Yorkers can participate in the life of our city, we must make Fair Fares a success. This is one of the few policy levers entirely within the City's control-and we should use it to make mass transit, and life in New York City, more affordable for low-income residents. Expanding access and improving outreach will not only reduce transit hardship but also strengthen our city's workforce and communities. Let's not miss this opportunity to do right by hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who simply need a way to get where they're going. Expand eligibility, ramp up outreach, and invest in making this program truly accessible to everyone who needs it.

Thank you again for allowing me to present this testimony. Please reach out to me at dchatterjee@cssny.org if you have any questions.

Notes

1. CSS estimates based on 1-year American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample as retrieved from IPUMS.

Issues Covered

Economic Mobility & Security

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