{"id":479018,"date":"2025-12-30T02:17:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T02:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/479018\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T02:17:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T02:17:14","slug":"could-discount-program-expand-with-mta-fare-and-toll-increase-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/479018\/","title":{"rendered":"Could discount program expand with MTA fare and toll increase in 2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (PIX11) \u2014 A push is on to increase the discount plan for half-price rides on New York City Transit subways and buses as fares and tolls increase<\/a> in 2026.<\/p>\n

Rider advocates have the pitch ready to go as the new term begins in January. Transit affordability is part of the agenda for Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani<\/a> and some city council members.<\/p>\n

Fair Fares<\/a> is structured around the federal poverty level. With higher income levels, minimum wage workers would qualify.<\/p>\n

More Local News <\/a><\/p>\n

Check Fair Fares\u2019 eligibility online or at 30 MTA customer service centers around the system.<\/p>\n

It is currently set at 150% of the Federal Poverty Level, which is about $23,000 for an individual and $48,000 for a four-person household.<\/p>\n

Doubling it to 300% would allow individuals making around $47,000 a year and households of four at $96,000 to be eligible.<\/p>\n

Brian Fritsch is a rider and Associate Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA.<\/p>\n

\u201cTransportation is a big part of the affordability puzzle. One in five New Yorkers say it\u2019s tough to afford. This would bring more people in, including minimum wage workers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State <\/a><\/p>\n

About a third of eligible New Yorkers are currently enrolled. Advocates are also proposing automatic enrollment by the city\u2019s Human Resources Administration and look at including MTA Express Buses and City Tickets on the LIRR and Metro-North.<\/p>\n

Free subway and bus fares for New Yorkers making 150% or less of the federal poverty level is also a part of the discussion.<\/p>\n

Formal budget negotiations traditionally happen later in the year. Fair Fares is a city-funded program that was created in 2019. The income eligibility has been increased three times, including by Mayor Adams and the city council in 2025.<\/p>\n

The NYC Budget includes about a hundred million to fund Fair Fares at current levels. Advocacy groups estimate an expansion to cost between $125 and $155 million.<\/p>\n

The MTA has called for expansion of the program. Mayor-elect Mamdani has repeated his promise of free buses as a key part of transit affordability.<\/p>\n

2026 will bring the end of the MetroCard swipe as the tap and pay system called OMNY becomes the way to pay. Reduced-fare riders can use only one payment method, which they select at sign-up. The choices are a Reduced-Fare OMNY Card, a credit or debit card, or a mobile device.<\/p>\n

Dec. 31 is the final date for MetroCard sales or to add money.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (PIX11) \u2014 A push is on to increase the discount plan for half-price rides on New…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":479019,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[648,1032,132893,1033,171,116277,217012,217013,217014,217015,67,132,68,5301],"class_list":{"0":"post-479018","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-city-council-members","11":"tag-design","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-fair-fares","14":"tag-federal-poverty-level","15":"tag-minimum-wage-workers","16":"tag-mta-customer-service","17":"tag-permanent-citizens-advisory-committee","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-zohran-mamdani"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115806119027300501","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/479019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}