The preliminary budget appears to contain no expansion of the Fair Fares program, despite the recent fare hike, the struggle 1 in 5 riders face to afford the fare, and the dilemma too many New Yorkers face between the fare, other necessities, and the risk of arrest just to get around, said Riders Alliance spokesperson Danny Pearlstein in a Tuesday statement.
New Yorkers may soon be able to hop on a bus without tapping a credit card or OMNY card -at least for a few weeks. According to the New York Daily News , Mayor Zohran Mamdani is pushing for a five-week pilot program that would make buses free during this summer's FIFA World Cup , turning one of his signature campaign promises into a high-profile test run just as the city prepares for a massive influx of visitors.
Anyone traveling on the MTA's Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) or Metro-North Railroad can travel between stops within NYC stops using a CityTicket for $5 during off-peak hours or $7 during peak hours. In other words, New Yorkers can use the LIRR and Metro-North, even if they are not heading into the city's surrounding counties, without paying full cost. While CityTicket has existed in NYC since 2003 for weekend travel,