New York City Mayor Adams, NYC Department of Social Services to transition Fair Fares pilot to OMNY
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Molly Wasow Park launched the first phase of the full transition of the Fair Fares program to OMNY, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) contactless fare payment system, following the conclusion of a successful Fair Fares pilot on OMNY between DSS and the MTA.
According to Mayor Adams, the switch to OMNY will make it easier for working-class New Yorkers to manage their transit funds and help participants save money with automatic fare capping, which ensures that no Fair Fares client will pay more than $17 per week to ride the subway and eligible buses when using their Fair Fares-issued OMNY card. The program’s transition comes on the heels of the Adams administration’s implementation of a second Fair Fares income eligibility expansion, a joint effort with the New York City Council, which increased income eligibility from 120 percent to 145 percent of the federal poverty level and made nearly 200,000 more working-class New Yorkers eligible for the half-priced fares through the program.
“New York City’s public transit system is the lifeblood of our city, serving New Yorkers all across the five boroughs. By bringing our world-class Fair Fares program onto the MTA’s digital OMNY system, we are making it even easier for working-class New Yorkers to access discounted rides on our trains and on our buses,” Mayor Adams said. “These discounts not only make our transit system more affordable and more accessible, but are helping put money back into more New Yorkers’ pockets as we continue to make New York City the best place to raise a family.”
“Every day, millions of New Yorkers rely on the city’s robust public transit system to get where they need to go, but for many working-class and low-income residents, covering the cost of transit can be a real challenge,” said DSS Commissioner Wasow Park. “It is imperative that the city’s subways, buses and paratransit services are affordable to all New Yorkers, and the transition of Fair Fares to OMNY, coupled with the recent income eligibility expansion, will contribute significantly to our efforts to advance transit equity by not only making more New Yorkers eligible for half-priced fares, but making it easier than ever to manage transit costs and save even more with fare capping. We will continue to work closely with our community and government partners to promote the program, engage New Yorkers and ensure that those who can benefit the most from this discount are aware of it.”
During the first phase of the transition to OMNY, the Fair Fares discount will be available on Fair Fares-issued OMNY cards. The mayor’s office notes all new program enrollees will receive a Fair Fares OMNY card, instead of a MetroCard, and will immediately be able to tap into the subway system or on eligible buses after loading funds onto the card. Clients can add money to their Fair Fares OMNY card at one of the more than 470 OMNY vending machines located in subway stations across the city, select retail locations, online through a registered OMNY account or by calling OMNY customer service.
According to the mayor’s office, current enrollees may request an OMNY card at their convenience via Access HRA. Otherwise, they will automatically receive one when they renew their program enrollment or request a replacement card. The office says clients can continue to use any active Fair Fares MetroCard until they expire. In the second phase of the transition, participants will be able to apply their Fair Fares discount to preexisting OMNY cards, bank cards or mobile devices.
DSS works with a wide array of community-based organizations and government partners to educate and enroll New Yorkers in Fair Fares, including collaborating with the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to share details about Fair Fares at NYCHA/Office of Neighborhood Safety events and partnering with the MTA to promote the program at Transit Talks. DSS also provides comprehensive Fair Fares trainings to its partners, and following the recent program eligibility expansion, the agency has increased the frequency of training opportunities from monthly to bimonthly and updated trainings to include critical guidance on the transition to OMNY. DSS will also launch a $2 million targeted advertising campaign to ensure more potentially-eligible New Yorkers are aware of the program and help them sign up for the benefit.
The Fair Fares discount is available to New Yorkers between the ages of 18 and 64 years old, regardless of immigration status, whose income falls at or below 145 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.
