Reduced MetroCards are coming to New York City in January, but the discounts only apply to weekly and monthly passes. New details about the Fair Fares program, which was officially included in the city budget in June, were released on Tuesday during an MTA board meeting. According to meeting minutes, the MTA will not be providing single trip discounts when the program kicks off next year. Instead, low-income New Yorkers who are living at or below the federal poverty level, or a household income of $25,000 for a family of four, can buy half-off 7-day or 30-day passes.
“We always envisioned riders being able to purchase any fare type at half price and hope that this flexibility is added as the program rolls out,” David Jones, MTA board member, said in a statement to Gothamist. “Choice is important to all customers, especially for those who are financially constrained.”
A pilot Fair Fares program will launch in January and will run until June. As 6sqft previously reported, the City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio agreed to provide roughly $100 million in funding six months of the program, fully subsidizing the cost during the test run.
Original estimates found nearly 800,000 New Yorkers would benefit from the discounted subway and bus fares. But it’s unclear as of now how many straphangers will benefit without a reduced fare for single trips. Since it’s kicking off as a pilot program first, details are still being worked out.