Press Release
CSS Report: New Yorkers Struggle to Afford Mass Transit; Expanding Fair Fares Can Help
Report findings highlight persistent transit affordability hardships and calls for improvements and expansion of Fair Fares transit discount program
The Community Service Society’s new report, When You Can’t Afford the Fare: How Expanding Fair Fares can Help Working New Yorkers as Transit Hardships Persist, found that almost one in five New Yorkers are dealing with transit affordability hardship. The rates of hardship were predictably higher among low-income New Yorkers, with 30 percent reporting that they often struggled to pay subway or bus fares. Even among moderate and high-income New Yorkers, paying for transit has become a bigger financial burden over the past few years. Transit hardship compounded the already extant inequities in the city along racial and gender lines: Black and Latina/o/x New Yorkers and low-income working mothers reported higher than average rates of transit affordability hardship.
While Fair Fares, a program that provides half-priced subway and bus fares for New York City residents living at or below 120 percent of the federal poverty level, is a critical transit lifeline for those who enroll, the program is yet to perform at its full potential. CSS’s 2023 Unheard Third survey shows that more than half (56 percent) of the eligible population was not engaged with the process of enrollment, with many New Yorkers reporting that they had not heard of the program or did not know how to apply.
Almost 320,000 New Yorkers have enrolled in the Fair Fares program, but they constitute only a third of the eligible pool. Part of the reason behind the relatively low take-up rate is that many low-income working New Yorkers, with a regular need to commute to their jobs, are ineligible for the program. The report calls on city leadership to increase the income eligibility threshold for Fair Fares, from 120 percent to 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), to open the program to more low-income working New York City residents.
“The program’s artificially low eligibility threshold is preventing Fair Fares from reaching New Yorkers who are struggling to afford the bus and subway fare. Today, only 33 percent of eligible city residents are enrolled in Fair Fares,” said David R. Jones, President and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York. “As the city continues its post-pandemic economic recovery, we should take all necessary steps to make our city more affordable, livable and economically viable, especially for the people who make this city run. Expanding eligibility for the Fair Fares program to 200 percent of poverty is a reasonable investment of taxpayer dollars to spread the economic benefit of the program to more New Yorkers.”
“It is startling and unacceptable that a New Yorker who works fulltime at the minimum wage ($16 per hour) makes too much to qualify for the program”, said Emerita Torres, Vice President of Policy Research and Advocacy at CSS and co-author on the report. “We need to ensure that mass transit fares do not hold New Yorkers back from participating in the city’s economy and contributing to its growth.”
"Fair Fares is a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers yet still unavailable to many riders barely making ends meet," said Riders Alliance Senior Organizer Danna Dennis. "Even with last year's expansion, the program still isn't fulfilling its promise or reaching enough struggling families. Riders thank our partners at the Community Service Society and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams for being steadfast champions of Fair Fares. We urge Mayor Adams to get on board and increase eligibility to 200% of the poverty line in the City budget this summer."
“Awareness about the Fair Fares program has improved over the last two years, but even now over half (56 percent) of eligible New Yorkers are not engaged with the enrollment process”, said Debipriya Chatterjee, Senior Economist at CSS and co-author of the report. “The administration needs to address this, developing a concerted and well-funded outreach and awareness strategy that includes transit advocates and local organizations.”
CSS’ latest report on transit affordability comes on the heels of New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams’ announcement at yesterday’s “State of the City” address that she wants to the program to reach more New Yorkers: “Better access to Fair Fares is needed to ensure it reaches New Yorkers who need support. It requires deeper investments, which is why we will continue to push for eligibility at 200 percent of the federal poverty level – so that more people can access our public transit system to unlock opportunity.”
"Every New Yorker deserves access to public transit they can afford," said NYC Council Majority Whip Selvena N. Brooks-Powers, Chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. "The Fair Fares program is a lifeline to New Yorkers, but too many residents are still struggling to afford the cost of transit. That is why we must raise the eligibility threshold for the Fair Fares discount to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level and work to increase the program's uptake. I am grateful for CSS' tireless advocacy for greater investment in Fair Fares and accessible transit access."
"Investing in Fair Fares is not only about transportation — it is about empowering our communities,” said NYC Council Majority Leader Amanda Farias. “The Fair Fares program breaks down the barriers keeping working families from fully participating and thriving in our city. I thank Community Service Society for your continued research on transit affordability and its ability to enhance opportunities for Black, Latino, and AAPI New Yorkers who commute everyday to get to their jobs, schools, and access daily necessities. I am proud to have passed a law to subsidize NYC ferry access for NYC students and look forward to continuing to work with CSS and Rider’s Alliance to ensure Fair Fares reaches even more New Yorkers!"
Fair Fares expansion was also endorsed by the State Assembly, which called for additional funding of $127 million in its one-house budget resolution to expand the program’s eligibility threshold to 200 percent of poverty.
The CSS report offers a number of recommendations to address transit affordability, notably by increasing funding for the Fair Fares program and ensure eligible New Yorkers with the highest need are aware of its existence and enrolled via a more aggressive and targeted outreach. Below is a summary of the report’s key findings:
- Overall, 20 percent of all New Yorkers reported struggling to afford mass transit.
- Recent fare hike (from$2.75 to $2.90) + high cost of living in NYC has made it hard to afford mass transit.
- Share of respondents who said they struggled to pay fare:
- 37 percent of low-income Latina/o/x New Yorkers
- 31 percent of low-income women
- 34 percent of low-income working women
- Even moderate and high-income New Yorkers have been reporting that they struggle to afford mass transit rates in recent years.
- The Fair Fares program is not coming close to addressing the need for transit relief needed by working class New Yorkers (e.g., home health aides, day laborers, retail workers, food service workers, etc.,).
- All New Yorkers with incomes below 200 percent of poverty experience transit affordability at similar rates.
- Differences in transit hardship rates for New Yorkers in poverty and those in “near-poverty” are virtually indistinguishable (30 percent vs. 29 percent).
- Public awareness of Fair Fares remains low, despite slow improvement over the past three years.
The report recommends:
- Expanding eligibility for Fair Fares to 200 percent of poverty (at an estimated cost of $55 million).
- City and MTA cooperation in launching an aggressive Fair Fares public outreach and awareness campaign.
- Simplifying the enrollment process (automatically screening for Fair Fares at all social services sites and intake centers, as well as allowing applicants to apply through “MyCity” benefits portal).
- Making demographic data on Fair Fares enrollment and participation public so all stakeholders can better analyze program usage and impact.