By Joseph Morales

(Link to sign up for Fair Fares is at the bottom of the article upon pressing Read More)

In 2019, NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio and the New York City Council announced the Fair Fares Program to make the MTA’s subway and bus services as well as Access-A-Ride affordable to low-income New Yorkers by offering riders either half-priced MetroCards or Access-A Ride fares to help cover daily transportation costs. The city currently has about $75 million dollars targeted to the program which gives New Yorkers living below the federal poverty threshold the opportunity to obtain half-priced MetroCards with all fare options available(Pay-Per Ride, 7 and 30 day unlimited, etc.) The program which has been fully operational for almost the last two and a half years has been able to serve over 270,006 riders according to the fair fares website. It has changed the lives of many, take for instance Derek Jimenez, an East Harlem resident who works a maintenance job that pays about $1,000 a month($12,000 a year) who told the New York Times in February that now his money stretches further. He told them that though he was able to afford certain things like a guitar he got on sale, that he mostly saves the money. “I hold onto it for now, for rainy days. The economy is really hurting.”  Though the program has had some success, it is astonishing that only 270,006 people are enrolled out of the approximately 700,000 people eligible, which is less than half of all eligible New Yorkers. That is up from only 257,004 as of January 2021. There are a number of reasons, but many are rooted in the systemic inequities that low-income residents of New York City continue to persevere through on a daily basis.

The Digital Divide

According to a report done by the former City Comptroller Scott Stringer’s office in 2020 regarding the digital divide in NYC and the 2020 census, 646,114 or 44% of New Yorkers that live in poverty, do not have any broadband internet access. This is not including the many more New Yorkers in poverty who use cellular data to access the internet which still may not allow them to complete the process necessary to apply for the Fair Fares Program. Based on data from the Comptroller’s Office comparing broadband internet access to census participation from the 2010 census shows almost an exact correlation between communities with lower levels of internet access having lower levels of census participation. For example, 32 percent of residents in East Flatbush, Farragut and Rugby lacked broadband internet access and only 47 percent of households completed the U.S Census. However, on the Upper East Side, Manhattan where only 15 percent of households lacked broadband internet access, 69 percent completed the U.S Census. This indicates that there is a large chance the digital divide in NYC is playing a role in Fair Fares enrollment numbers.  This probably has even more of a role in Access A Ride fair fares enrollments as seniors are even less likely to have internet access.The city once had Fair Fares Enrollment offices, however they have been closed as a COVID-19 precaution despite other city services such as schools making full reopenings. It says on the city’s website you can call 311, but when I did so I was told to proceed to the city’s fair fares website or the Access HRA app. Though people can also register for the program at select social services offices, there is only one office per borough and since many low-income New Yorkers work blue-collar, hourly jobs it may be hard for many to get to an office to apply for the program.

Lack of Public Outreach

          The limited public outreach efforts of the city to inform riders of the Fair Fares Program has also led to many eligible New Yorkers not knowing about the program.  There have been some advertisements on subways and buses as well as digital ads being run in bodegas, nail salons and barber shops with a focus on the highest need communities. Ads have also been run on bus shelters in English, Spanish and Chinese as well as in ethnic publications in 11 languages.                          

          While this may seem like a great effort, it may not have been enough to reach all of those who are eligible for the program.  According to the Community Service Society’s Unheard Third 2021 survey that surveys low-income New Yorkers, 14% of those surveyed did not know how to apply for the program. On buses and subways in NYC, there have been many advertisements where there are public service announcements or advertisements for certain companies. The MTA has also made massive efforts to publicize information such as public hearings, job opportunities in the agency, such as its #TakeTheBus, #TakeTheTrain campaign aimed at boosting ridership. Though these outreach efforts are all for good causes, this indicates that the resources to inform riders about the Fair Fares Program have not been utilized to the fullest possible extent.

             The advertisements for such a monumental program cannot pale in comparison to these efforts if this program will have sustainable success. The MTA can begin to utilize its platform through its bus information screens, subway announcements and posters to get the word out. The city should also utilize more of its resources that have an ability to meet the people where they are. It should use its public school system to interact with families with children by sending memos home with students or using the school resources to help parents sign up that are already used to interact with families for other purposes. The city can also leverage its public libraries which already are equipped with the technology required for registration and already provide services such as career and financial counseling, technical assistance that are already offered that are similar in scope to what would be needed to help people apply for the fair fares program. Information kiosks and advertisements in other public settings such as public hospitals and community centers can also help the cause.  The city can also concentrate efforts in public housing as well as affordable housing developments with residents that meet the income criteria for the program. There are other channels the city can use to provide information as well such as television advertisements.

               Department of Social Services spokesperson Isaac McGinn told AMNY in July 2021 that the agency has been collaborating with the New York City Housing Authority(NYCHA) and CUNY(City University of New York) to notify eligible public housing residents and college students respectively about the Fair Fares program. How successful or not this collaboration has been is not clear.

Takeaways

                Transportation is extremely important for all New Yorkers to thrive and have access to jobs, essential services and recreation. This is especially true for New Yorkers who live in poverty and are less likely to be able to own cars. Therefore, helping New Yorkers apply for a program like this is crucial to ensure not only that low-income New Yorkers have equitable access to transportation but so that the city’s economy can continue to prosper and bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Works Cited

“Census and The City: Overcoming NYC’s Digital Divide.” New York City Comptroller, https://comptroller.nyc.gov/wp-content/uploads/documents/Census_and_The_City_Overcoming_NYC_Digital_Divide_Census.pdf. Accessed 16 October 2022.

“Unheard Third 2021.” Community Service Society, https://smhttp-ssl-58547.nexcesscdn.net/nycss/images/uploads/pubs/Mass_Transit_As_An_Economic_Equalizer.pdf. Accessed 16 October 2022.

Bascome, Erik. “Fair Fares half-priced MetroCard program hits record 255K enrollments in October, report says.” SILive.com, 4 November 2021, https://www.silive.com/news/2021/11/fair-fares-half-priced-metrocard-program-hits-record-255k-enrollments-in-october-report-says.html. Accessed 16 October 2022. 

Ley, Ana. “An MTA Discount Program So Exclusive, Barely Anyone in NYC Qualifies.” The New York Times, 15 February 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/nyregion/nyc-mta-discount-fare.html. Accessed 16 October 2022.

“Fair Fares NYC.” NYC.gov, https://www1.nyc.gov/site/fairfares/index.page. Accessed 16 October 2022.

Applying To Fair Fares

To apply to the Fair Fares Program or see if you’re eligible click here: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/fairfares/index.page