Mayor Adams’ Fair Fares program expansion delayed advocates urge immediate action for New Yorkers in need

The lack of transparency and accountability is as inexcusable as the delay itself.”

U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres

Included in this year’s city budget, Mayor Eric Adams announced in July the expansion of the Fair Fares program, which grants eligible residents discounted transportation costs.

But, at press time, newly eligible New Yorkers have yet to be given access. 

The Fair Fares program launched in 2019 to provide low-income New Yorkers with a 50-percent savings on subway and bus fares. Prior to the July budget finalization, New Yorkers living at or below 120 percent of the federal poverty level qualified for the discount. According to the mayor’s expansion, the income eligibility was raised to 145 percent, stretching the program to reach 200,000 more people. 

Currently, the city’s transportation website states a single-person household is eligible for the Fair Fares discount with a maximum income of $18,072 or less, with a four-person household having an eligible income of $37,440 or less.

With the eligibility increase, a one-person household can make up to $21,837, and a four-person household can make up to $45,420. 

To be eligible for the program, residents must be between 18 and 64. Residents with qualifying disabilities, or who are over the age of 65, are eligible for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Reduced-Fare Program, which also lowers prices by half, making a bus trip $1.45 and a Metro-North or Long Island Railroad trip 50 percent less. 

With the new Fair Fares guidelines approved in the city budget, U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres penned a letter to the department of social services looking for answers on why participants are not enjoying the expanded benefits. 

The Fair Fares program is personal to Torres, he said, because he voted as a City Council member for its creation. 

“The highest priority of every government, at every level, should be to make America more affordable to more Americans and to make the Bronx more affordable to Bronxites,” Torres said. 

He said constituents have called his office inquiring about the expansion, frustrated about the stalled rollout. 

Torres said the expansion was not carried out prior to the school year, impacting thousands of students over 18 in a city that relies heavily on public transportation. 

“The lack of transparency and accountability is as inexcusable as the delay itself,” Torres said. 

Before Torres served on the City Council, he worked under former councilmember Jimmy Vacca. Vacca has held the title of distinguished lecturer at Queens College since his retirement from politics in 2017, but has stayed up to date with city affairs, including the expansion — or lack thereof — of the Fair Fares program. 

“How could it be that the city of New York allocates money for a program July 1, but it takes the city six months to get it off the ground,” Vacca said. 

While working with his students, Vacca shares information about programs and resources available to them, including this program.

“I’m very glad they increased the guidelines, but I hate to see the money sitting there,” Vacca said. 

Vacca’s is also concerned with outreach. He said people must be made aware they are newly eligible for this discount, and he believes it could take months before the expansion even takes effect. 

Torres and his mentor said they are puzzled by the red tape entangling a program designed to assist New Yorkers in need. Torres’s letter calls on social services to expedite the expansion so those who need it most can get it as soon as possible. 

“The best way to fight inflation is to lower costs, and the best time to lower costs is not later but now,” Torres said. 

Torres said he’s excited to see more residents, and more of his own constituents, gain access to critical savings.

According to Torres, there has been no public announcement on a timetable for implementing the expansion and no response from the department.

The department of social services could not be reached for comment at press time.