What you should know
- In an effort to encourage New Yorkers to return to using the subways, buses and trains, particularly after the sharp decline in ridership due to the pandemic, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced a pilot fare program.
- Temporary promotional fare changes will begin February 28 for NYC Transit and February 25 for commuter rail tickets.
- The pilot plan will last for at least four months.
—
NEW YORK — In an effort to encourage New Yorkers to return to using the subway, the “more affordable, more flexible and fairer” fare pilot program begins Friday.
Temporary promotional fare changes will begin February 28 for NYC Transit and February 25 for commuter rail tickets. The pilot plan will last for at least four months.
“Getting passengers back on public transportation depends on three variables: reliability, safety and price. We’ve made it a priority to be creative on fares,” MTA President and CEO Janno Lieber said in a statement.
“Transit affordability is also an equity issue, and we are committed to offering a wide range of new discounts, while also ensuring the MTA maintains a strong bottom line.”
NYC TRANSIT FARE CAP PILOT PLAN
The fare cap pilot program for New York City Transit will feature automatically free unlimited rides achieved after 12 OMNY touches, Monday through Sunday, without having to pay up front for the week, according to the MTA.
Customers using OMNY will be charged the standard pay-per-ride rate of $2.75 for their first 12 rides beginning every Monday. Any ride after that until the following Sunday would be free.
Those with a contactless device or card can start using it to earn free rides as long as they use the same device or card each time.
Ultimately, this means that under the pilot program, no OMNY customer would pay more than $33 per week, the current price for a seven-day unlimited ride MetroCard. At this time, only MetroCard cards offer the unlimited ride option. But those cards will be phased out by 2023.
FARE CHANGES FOR LIRR, METRO-NORTH RAILROAD
The MTA will offer three major rail fare changes, all in hopes of boosting the number of train riders within the city.
- A new 20-ride ticket will offer 20% off comparable 20-way rush hour fares when purchased through MTA eTix, or at a ticket window;
- Monthly tickets, currently discounted between 48% and 61% off the price of a comparable number of one-way tickets at peak times, will be discounted by an additional 10%;
- CityTicket, which offers a reduced flat fare on train travel within New York City on weekends, will be extended to all non-peak trains during the week (excluding weekends) at a rate of $5 .
- The new offer is a discount of $2.25 or 31% off the current Metro-North fare between the Bronx and Manhattan, which is $7.25. (CityTicket must be purchased and activated prior to boarding the train. Metro-North fare between the Bronx and Manhattan remains $13 when purchased on board the train.)
- This new offer translates to $2.75 or 35% off the current LIRR weekday fare between eastern Queens and Manhattan or Brooklyn, which is $7.75. (CityTicket must be purchased and activated prior to boarding the train. The off-peak LIRR fare between eastern Queens and Manhattan or Brooklyn remains $14 when purchased on board the train.)
All LIRR and Metro-North fares will remain off-peak through February 28.
While the pilot program is underway, the MTA will evaluate the impact of the new fares on the customer experience, among other things.
La MTA has been contemplating a fee pilot program for some time. Another major city, London, has a fare cap program for its public transport users.
Before the pilot plan began to be implemented, the agency studied whether a cap would make economic sense, especially given that the rate increase planned for the year was not reached.
“It’s no secret that the MTA has serious financial challenges,” Lieber said last year. “We want to make sure we’re there for New Yorkers forever. And that means having a strong financial foundation.”
According to MTA customer service director Sarah Meyer, if the fare cap pilot could be extended or even become permanent.
“The fare cap will save many of our passengers money and give them more flexibility,” Meyer said. “At a time when New Yorkers are paying more for everyday items, the MTA is helping them save money on transportation, one of their most essential expenses… We hope riders embrace the new program, and we’ll be watching to see how.” it affects our operations and revenues from the fare box. If the pilot is successful, we could extend it or make it permanent.”
–
