Fare Discounts: The Facts

As part of its hearings of the subway and bus fare, the MTA says it wants to know what riders think about a variety of different fare options. These include what to charge for unlimited-ride MetroCards and what kind of bonuses to provide to purchases made on pay-per-ride MetroCards.

"The possible changes underscored how little the pending fare increase would resemble those in the past, when the central question was how much to raise the price of a token. This time around, with electronic fare cards and discounts, an increase could mean very different things for different commuters," noted an article in the January 28th edition of The New York Times.

In the last five years, MetroCard fare discounts have increased mobility and access for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers. Any changes in the discounts should — and also be fair. Because these aren’t easy questions, the Straphangers Campaign has prepared this fact sheet to assist people commenting on the fare policy proposals.

Fact: The MTA has only offered illustrations of possible prices for unlimited-ride MetroCards and other fare discounts, not specifics. The agency should give the public a fair opportunity to comment by releasing its proposed final fare policies well in advance of adoption. Sometime after the MTA's public hearings end in late February, the MTA board will adopt a detailed "tariff." This will include a specific proposed new base fare and discount prices. The MTA would be shortchanging the riding public if a proposed final tariff appeared the morning of an MTA board vote, without advance notice. "There needs to be a much more involved discussion of the fare policy and where it can go," as one MTA Board member said January, describing an MTA staff presentation on fare policy issues as little more than an "exercise in laying out fantasy numbers."

Fact: The MTA's own survey data shows that it needs to make some MetroCard fare discounts more accessible to low- and moderate-income riders.

• 30-day MetroCards: Only 2% of frequent riders earning $15,000-$25,000 a year buy 30-day, $63 unlimited-ride MetroCards. That's compared to 9% of frequent riders earning $75,000-$100,000.
• 10% Bonus: Only 19% of frequent riders earning under $15,000 make use of the 10% bonus on pay-per-ride MetroCard of $15 or more. That’s compared to 32% of frequent riders earning over $100,000. And it's even more striking for moderate users (4-7 trips per week.): 5% of low-income riders use the bonus compared to 38% of riders earning $75,000-$100,000.

Fact: Low- and moderate-income riders do make heavy use of the 7-day, $17 unlimited-ride pass: 17% of riders earning under $15,000 buy 7-day passes, compared to 10% of riders earning over $100,000. Low and moderate-income frequent riders buy 7-day passes more than average: While 16% of all frequent users buy 7-day passes, 20% of frequent riders earning between $15,000 and $25,000 buy 7-day passes. This makes sense since a lot of transit dependent people benefit from access to unlimited rides, as they use subways and buses for everything from going to work to bringing their children to school to shopping to visits to the doctor or family.

Fact: The MTA should take steps to make MetroCard fare discounts more accessible to low- and moderate-income riders. The Straphangers Campaign has recommended five improvements, based on the results of a telephone survey of 800 riders conducted last November by the Straphangers Campaign and Transportation Alternatives. (It can be found at http://www.straphangers.org/discount.html.) The proposals are:

• replacing lost or stolen 30-day MetroCards. Sixty-three percent of the Straphangers Campaign survey respondents said that it would be a major improvement for them if they were "able to replace a lost or stolen unlimited-ride MetroCard." Currently, New York City Transit treats most MetroCards as cash, with riders bearing the risk of loss or theft. The transit agency now replaces lost or stolen MetroCards purchased by riders in the senior citizen or disability half-fare programs. The prospect of replacement cards was most popular among those respondents now buying 30-day unlimited-ride MetroCards, which cost $63;
• offering 14-day unlimited-ride MetroCard. Nearly one-half (45%) of lower-income riders surveyed who use a 7-day pass said that the cost of a 30-day card is a "very important" reason for not buying a 30-day pass. A bi-weekly pass priced at $31.50-one-half the cost of the monthly pass-makes the savings of the current 30-day pass more accessible to lower-income riders;
• offering 5-day unlimited-ride "flexible" passes priced. Sixty-three percent of riders in the survey said it would be a "major improvement" if they could buy a MetroCard good for unlimited rides on non-consecutive days. The current 7-day card expires within seven consecutive days of first use. "Flexible" passes were most popular with those now using pay-per-ride MetroCards;
• restructuring the 10% bonus on MetroCard purchases of $15 or more. Survey results showed that the 10% bonus is inequitable: While 13% of low-income riders (household incomes under $25,000) purchase bonus MetroCards, 30% of riders with household incomes between $50,000 and $75,000 and 39% of riders with incomes over $75,000 purchase bonus MetroCards; and
• more aggressively promoting increased participation in "TransitChek," a program that lowers fares by saving workers $400 or more a year in transit tax breaks on their purchase of MetroCards. Only 23% of employed survey respondents say their employer offers TransitChek. City, state and federal officials should commit to doubling this number by the end of 2004.

The New York Times editorialized in support of fare discount improvements last November 27th, writing: "A subway rider who buys a monthly pass can cut the average price per ride to about $1.25, but it's hard for the poorest riders to come up with an [the cost of a monthly pass] at one time. The M.T.A. should study revisions that might make such purchases less onerous. Five-day passes that can be used for five nonconsecutive days would be one option, or a way for purchasers to get insurance against loss of an expensive one-month pass."

For more information, contact: Gene Russianoff (212) 349-6460

_____________________________________________________________
www.straphangers.org | www.nypirg.org