City Expands Fair Fares Eligibility to 200% of Federal Poverty Level

Overview

• The budget deal struck by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin on Tuesday raises Fair Fares eligibility from 150% to 200% of the federal poverty level.
• The city committed an additional $54 million for the coming fiscal year, bringing the program budget to about $174.6 million to cover roughly 340,000 newly eligible New Yorkers.
• Under the new threshold individuals earning up to $31,920 and a family of four earning up to $66,000 will qualify, expanding total eligibility to about 1.3 million people.
• Enrollment remains application-based, and participation is low — roughly one-third to 40 percent of eligible riders are signed up — which critics say will blunt the expansion’s reach.
• Fair Fares began in 2019 as a half-price, income-tested transit discount; advocates sought deeper changes such as automatic enrollment or broader income bands and say the city may need further policy moves to raise take-up and equity.