Opinion: Affordable transit makes New York more affordable

We hear a lot about New York’s affordability crisis. That isn’t just a buzz phrase; it’s the reality for millions of us working to make ends meet as we feel the pinch of rising food prices, pay heat and electric bills and go out for the occasional meal or movie. 

Many of us who live in the city are fortunate not to have the added burden of having to pay for a car or gas – we rely on public transit, which remains the lowest cost way to travel around the region. In fact, 90% of commuters into the Central Business District take transit and will be the biggest beneficiaries of congestion pricing due to the critical funding for vital transit infrastructure that will improve the ride on subways, buses, Staten Island Rail, the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North, but drivers will also be winners as they battle less traffic and spend less time stuck in costly gridlock.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has made addressing the cost of living a cornerstone of her 2025 State of the State Affordability Agenda, and she’s already making strides to improve access to transit. Affordability is the core reason she gave for reducing the tolls by 40% from $15 to $9/day (before toll credits) for most drivers traveling during peak hours. 

Her recent fare affordability proposal will make even more of a difference: bringing the cost of transit down so everyone can benefit. The new Winter Weekend Discount expands the Family Fare to allow monthly LIRR and Metro-North ticket holders to bring family and friends onboard for just $1 each on weekends. That’s one aspect of key recommendations from the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that would make transit an even better option for family travel as congestion pricing begins. 

To complement this fare improvement, Hochul is improving service – a tried-and-true method for getting more riders on board. She added more bus service to support riders in subway deserts in the boroughs outside Manhattan, connecting them to the Central Business District and to other modes of transit. And earlier this month, she announced a proposal to improve service and reduce delays on Metro-North while also spearheading a regional rail working group with nearby states and transit agencies to improve information-sharing and ease travel among states (which was another one of our proposals). 

The future of regional transit has never looked brighter!

The governor’s announcements make this the perfect time to create more equitable access to affordable transit with a suite of new and expanded fare discounts that align perfectly with her agenda. Our sixth and final report of 2024, “Rider-First Fare Payment," details five key recommendations with modest price tags. These are practical, actionable ideas that will cut costs for current and future riders as they travel to work, school, a doctor’s appointment or just to have fun:

• Allow senior, disabled, and Medicare-eligible riders to use half-fare trips during peak morning hours. Nonsensically, the half-fare trips that these riders are eligible for can currently be used throughout the remainder of the day – including during afternoon peak times – but cannot be used during morning peak periods on the LIRR and Metro-North, anywhere in the system. This creates unnecessary hurdles for transit-dependent groups and obstacles to employment and opportunity. 

• Close the “mid-kid” gap by creating a Family Fare for the LIRR and Metro-North for 12- to 17-year-olds, making transit a less expensive alternative to driving for families with older children. Building on the governor’s Winter Weekend Discount, offering reduced fares for “mid-kids” traveling with an adult would make taking the train a more affordable option for families. Similar to the discount available now for children between the ages of five and 11 who are traveling with a paying adult, a Family Fare could be available at any time of day and to any rider, not just monthly pass holders.

• Create a weekly CityTicket with transfers to subways and buses. According to the MTA, 1.5 million CityTickets (which allow New Yorkers to pay just $7 during peak hours and $5 during off-peak hours for one-way trips on LIRR and Metro-North that start and end within New York City) were sold in 2023. Reinstating a joint railroad-New York City Transit ticket option for travel within the city between the LIRR, Metro-North and subways and buses would shave hours off of commutes for New Yorkers living near railroads and farther from transit, without making them choose between costs that may be beyond reach and the added time it takes to travel using a bus to the subway. 

• Expand Fair Fares to the commuter railroads within New York City, allowing tens of thousands of New Yorkers in subway deserts to benefit from a program that is currently available only on New York City Transit. Fair Fares is an income-based half-fare program for New York City residents at or below 145% of the Federal Poverty Level. An analysis by the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee found that 70% of the city’s 39 railroad stations are adjacent to census tracts where over 25% of residents are eligible, yet New York City is one of only two large cities not to offer income-based fares on its commuter rails, despite having the highest poverty rate of cities surveyed.

• Expand Fair Fares eligibility from 145% of the federal poverty level to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level to increase access for as many as 450,000 more New Yorkers. Most minimum wage workers currently do not qualify for Fair Fares at the current eligibility threshold of 145% of the federal poverty limit. Analysis by the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee found that among the top ten U.S. most populous cities with similar programs, New York City has the highest poverty rate and lowest eligibility threshold. 

We’re urging the governor and the state Legislature to continue to be transit champions on the side of New Yorkers by helping create more affordable fare options in advance of anticipated biennial fare increases this spring and in the wake of the start of congestion pricing. 

What better way to ring in the New Year than by putting time and money back in New Yorkers’ pockets? These new discounts support Hochul’s affordability goals – and would help meet the needs of so many of us who know that transit is the gateway to opportunity and financial stability for so many New Yorkers.