The New York City Council has announced a $20 million investment towards expanding the Fair Fares program to help more low-income New Yorkers access public transportation, the mayor's office said in a press statement Friday.
Adams announced the program alongside Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park.
He said the program currently benefits more than 300,000 New Yorkers who get a 50% discount on trains and bus fares. The recent investment is in addition to the $75 million baselined for Fair Fares in the Fiscal Year 2023 budget.
The council also announced the implementation of a rule change about increasing the program’s income eligibility standard to 120% of the federal poverty level, a 20% increase over the prior standard.
Previously, the Fair Fares discount was available only to New Yorkers between 18 and 64 years old with incomes at or below 100% of the federal poverty level.
Adams said the recovery of almost 1 million jobs shed during the pandemic meant that more New Yorkers required public transportation to commute to work and schools, access health care and for social visits.
"New York City has recovered all of the nearly 1 million jobs lost during the pandemic, and public transit is a key component of building on that momentum and ensuring that our recovery continues to be inclusive for working families," he said.
State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, who represents Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Sunset Park, Greenwood Heights, Red Hook, Park Slope, Gowanus, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Downtown Brooklyn, Fort Greene, Brooklyn Heights, Vinegar Hill, and DUMBO, said the Fair Fares initiative meant the city's low-income residents would no longer have to choose between groceries and subway cards.
"No New Yorker should have to choose between buying groceries and a subway card — it's as simple as that. Today's expansion of the crucial Fair Fares program will help ensure financial accessibility for all to the system that millions and millions use to get where they need to be every day," said Gounardes.
