February 26, 2025
Transition Will Help More Than 360,000 New Yorkers Enrolled in Fair Fares Access Their 50 Percent Discounted Rates With OMNY
City Will Begin Issuing Fair Fares OMNY Cards to All New Enrollees, Existing Clients May Request OMNY Card at Their Convenience
NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Molly Wasow Park today announced 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. The switch to OMNY will make it easier for working-class New Yorkers to manage their transit funds and help participants save even more 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 busses,” said Mayor Adams. “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. 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 at 877-789-6669. 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. 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, making it even easier and more convenient to save on transit costs.
A critical element of the Fair Fares program is ensuring that New Yorkers who are eligible for the program are aware of it and are able to easily enroll. 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 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. Any community group, advocacy organization, municipal agency, or elected official office can register for a session at their convenience through the DSS’s online training registration platform. 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. New Yorkers can visit the Fair Fares website to check if they are eligible for the program, as well as apply online and begin saving 50 percent on subway and eligible bus fares or MTA Access-A-Ride paratransit trips.
Today’s announcement builds off the Adams administration’ work to make New York City more affordable. DSS helps connect eligible, low-income New York City families with a suite of crucial benefits, such as child care vouchers, which according to the city’s latest Preliminary Mayor’s Management (PMMR) Report, has seen a 21 percent increase in enrolment over the last reporting period.
DSS also helps connect families struggling to find affordable housing or stay in existing housing they are no longer able to afford with City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) vouchers — a rental assistance program that helps people find and keep housing. Thanks to increased utilization of CityFHEPS, subsidized exits from shelter increased by 68 percent for families with children according to the 2025 PMMR, and the Adams administration recently announced a record-breaking year for placing formerly homeless New Yorkers into permanent housing.
Last summer, the MTA and New York City Public Schools connected eligible students with OMNY cards to be able to get to and from school and extracurricular activities via public transportation with four free rides a day.
The Adams administration continues to prioritize making New York City affordable for families by connecting them with initiatives like Fair Fares. To help New Yorkers easily view and understand programs they may be eligible for, the administration released a “Money in Your Pocket Guide,” which directly links to eligibility requirements and relevant applications for over 40 different benefits. Since taking office, the Adams administration has helped put more than $30 billion back into the pockets of working-class New Yorkers by launching, administering, and helping New Yorkers take advantage of programs across all levels of government from Big Apple Connect, to Fair Fares, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and more.
“Affordable and accessible public transit is essential for working-class New Yorkers, and the transition of Fair Fares to OMNY is a crucial step in reducing barriers for those who rely on our system the most,” said New York City Council Majority Whip Selvena N. Brooks-Powers. “By making fare payments easier and introducing automatic fare capping, this change will help more New Yorkers stretch their hard-earned dollars while ensuring they can get to work, school, and essential services. I will continue to work with the administration and my council colleagues to prioritize transit equity across our city.
Source:”https://www.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor; midtowntribune.com