Clara Luz Miró takes the 1 train every day, from Upper Manhattan to 96th Street.
Being able to access the 50% discount on public transport fares seems very helpful to him.
“Everything is expensive and what you work for is not enough to survive. You live day to day with what you earn, no matter how much you work. And when there are children, it is worse,” says Miró.
But there is good news for her and thousands of other subway riders who earn no more than $22,000 a year: They will be able to pay half of the cost of a train fare under the Fair Fares program.
“I see it very well, especially for people who have small children. You know, I have at least one daughter who has two girls and travels from the Bronx to Manhattan every day, and that would be a benefit for her. To save something on how life is facing,” she adds.
Surrounded by several council members, Mayor Adams and the City Council Speaker announced a budget agreement for the upcoming fiscal year on Friday.
As part of the agreement is the expansion of the fair fare program, which covers 50 percent of the cost of the subway fare, which is currently $2.75.
Adalgisa Reyes, another public transportation user, says:
“Yes, it is important that more people benefit because the economy is in such bad shape. And some help is very welcome. I work, but what I earn is not enough to pay rent, groceries, transportation… And if there is help, they will give you that help. It is very good. It will benefit me greatly in my case, because I do not earn that much,” he says.
Until now, only New Yorkers earning $18,000, or those at 120 percent of the federal poverty level, could qualify for this discount program.
Now, those who earn up to $22,000 will also benefit, meaning they are at 145 percent of the poverty level, which translates to hundreds of thousands of people who are in that range of annual salary.
“In my opinion, it is always very important to help where we can help. Well, I agree with those types of decisions that help people who have. They have less,” says Allie King, a subway passenger.
Likewise, families of four who could access the discount were only those who earned $31,200, with the increase in the poverty level to 145%, families of four who earn a little more than $45,000 annually will now benefit.
The expansion of Fair Fares is possible thanks to the allocation of a little more than 20 million additional dollars to the program in the budget for the fiscal year that begins this Monday.
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