New York Metropolis is widely known for its transit choices — and notorious for its excessive price of residing.
Over 3 million folks trip the subway day-after-day, going by the turnstiles to enter the sprawling transit system that runs with the assistance of their fares.
Some New Yorkers pay the newly elevated $3 fare, which came about final month, with out a lot thought, however for others, transportation is troublesome to afford.
One in 5 New Yorkers battle to afford subway fares, based on the newest survey by the nonprofit Neighborhood Service Society. To assist them, a number of applications assist New Yorkers pay transit prices, however every has totally different guidelines and processes to hitch.
The 2 major ways in which qualifying New Yorkers can use to slash the price of transit fares: Honest Fares NYC, a city-run program underneath the Division of Social Providers, which relies on revenue, and Decreased-Fare, an MTA-run program primarily based on age and incapacity. There are additionally smaller applications to assist younger New Yorkers and ferry riders afford transit.
Able to get a diminished charge for the buses and trains? Right here’s what New Yorkers ought to find out about making use of for the discounted fare choices:
Honest Fares NYC
Honest Fares NYC is a city-run program that slashes the price of transit fares in half on subways, buses and Entry-A-Trip — the paratransit service for people with disabilities or well being situations that may make utilizing public buses or trains troublesome. It additionally reduces fares on the Staten Island Railway, Roosevelt Island Tramway and Hudson Rail Hyperlink, and is obtainable to residents no matter immigration standing.
The Division of Social Providers experiences that 389,405 New Yorkers as of January are enrolled in this system, accounting for 40% of eligible New Yorkers.
This system launched in 2019 to offer New Yorkers with incomes at and beneath the federal poverty stage entry to diminished fares, however it has progressively expanded its eligibility to use to people and households making as much as 150% of the federal poverty line. For a household of three residing in New York, which means they can not make greater than $40,980 to qualify for this system.
Commuters use OMNY playing cards to enter the South Ferry station, Feb. 3, 2026. Credit score: Alex Krales/THE CITY
“Folks who qualify are overwhelmingly in desperate need, and so these are folks who are really having trouble making ends meet, and for whom every dollar counts,” Danny Pearlstein mentioned, coverage director for Riders Alliance, a transit-advocacy group. “A real concern is that people may place themselves in harm’s way by skipping the fare and place themselves at risk of ticketing or arrest.”
Listed here are the family revenue limits to qualify in 2026:
People in Family Most Earnings 1$23,9402$32,4603$40,9804$49,5005$58,0206$66,5407$75,0608$83,580
The best way to apply: Honest Fares
New Yorkers can apply on-line by ACCESS HRA, town’s on-line portal for advantages or in particular person at one in every of 5 Honest Fares places of work. There’s one Honest Fares location in every borough, open Monday by Friday, 8:30 a.m. to five:00 p.m. and closed on holidays.
Paperwork are required to confirm the applicant’s age, tackle and revenue. The listing of instructed paperwork could be discovered right here, together with a government-issued photograph ID, financial institution statements and particular person tax returns from the prior yr.
Paperwork should be uploaded utilizing the ACCESS HRA app or introduced in particular person. After submitting an software, candidates have 10 days to submit the required paperwork. As soon as submitted, town notifies the applicant by mail when the applying has been reviewed, which can take as much as 30 days.
Upon approval, town will mail a Honest Fares OMNY card to the person’s tackle, which can take as much as three weeks to reach. Contributors might use the Honest Fares-issued OMNY card, or instantly apply the low cost on to a private OMNY card, financial institution card or cellular pockets by the ACCESS HRA web site or cellular app.
Honest Fares enrollment lasts for one yr and could be renewed so long as the participant remains to be eligible. Riders will obtain a renewal deadline through textual content and mail, and they need to renew at the very least 30 days earlier than the deadline to proceed receiving the low cost with out pause. The quickest solution to renew is on-line and contains submitting proof of revenue eligibility once more. Renewal may additionally be carried out in particular person at a Honest Fares location.
Bronx resident Jeremiah Gonzalez has been enrolled in Honest Fares since November 2024.
“I’m currently unemployed. I don’t have the means to make money besides the cash assistance HRA gives me,” he mentioned. “I have to stretch that $183 a month in certain ways.”
Gonzalez mentioned Fare Fares is useful for him.
“I don’t have to pay $3 every single time I go to a job appointment, or to here, or to wherever,” he mentioned, including that the low cost retains him from making an attempt to beat the fare.
Decreased-Fare Packages
The Decreased-Fare program applies to any New Yorker age 65 or older, or any particular person with a qualifying incapacity. Enrollees pay half of the fare for subways, buses and the Staten Island Railway. Riders who take the the Lengthy Island Rail Highway and Metro-North, the MTA’s commuter railroads, additionally pay half for one-way, peak fares. This system additionally slashes the fare for specific bus journeys anytime besides the weekday peak durations of 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. and three:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Disabled New Yorkers ought to apply for Honest Fares if they’re underneath the age of 65, meet the revenue necessities (see above) and need to obtain reduced-fare Entry-A-Trip journeys. Half-off rides with Entry-A-Trip don’t apply to senior riders or riders with disabilities within the Decreased-Fare program.
A web based software isn’t at present out there for the Decreased-Fare program, which implies candidates should apply in particular person or by mail. Candidates who enroll in particular person might obtain their Decreased-Fare OMNY card the identical day, however candidates who apply by mail might wait as much as three months earlier than receiving a Decreased-Fare OMNY Card. There are two totally different functions for folks aged 65 or older and people with disabilities.
A commuter speaks to an MTA customer support employee on the Fulton Avenue Transit Middle, Could 20, 2025. Credit score: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
The best way to Apply: Decreased-Fare riders 65 and older
Apply in particular person at one of many 29 subway stations with Buyer Service Facilities open 24/7, on the MTA’s Buyer Service Middle in Decrease Manhattan or at Cell Gross sales autos. Examine the schedules right here for when they might go to your neighborhood.
Carry an ID card to use. The listing of legitimate types of photograph ID is right here and features a legitimate driver’s license, passport from any nation and state photograph ID
Daisy, a senior citizen, utilized to this system in particular person on the Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Avenue station complicated in Queens. “It was very easy. They’re very helpful,” she mentioned. “I’m still working part-time, so it affords me the ability to go there. I do not drive. I can’t walk to work.”
The best way to Apply: Decreased-Fare riders with disabilities
Individuals with disabilities usually tend to reside on a hard and fast revenue or have lower-paying jobs than nondisabled people, and price is usually a barrier to transportation, based on Anna Humphrey, an organizer on the Middle for Independence of the Disabled.
For New Yorkers with disabilities, together with these unable to drive or afford taxi providers, discounted fares enable them to go to work, healthcare appointments and easily benefit from the metropolis with out elevated monetary strains.
In particular person, you’ll be able to apply for the Decreased-Fare program in choose subway stations with Buyer Service Facilities open 24/7, on the MTA’s Buyer Service Middle in Decrease Manhattan or at Cell Gross sales autos. Examine the autos’ schedules right here for when they might go to your neighborhood.
Carry documentation of your incapacity through a replica of a Medicare card issued for causes aside from age, or certification from a doctor or licensed healthcare supplier for bodily, cognitive disabilities or psychological well being situations.
A subway rider in wheelchair waits for a prepare at Grand Central, July 20, 2022. Credit score: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
The listing for qualifying disabilities is expansive and covers bodily, cognitive and psychological well being situations.
Riders with continual disabilities should re-certify each 4 years, a course of Humphrey known as “unnecessary.”
“If someone has a permanent disability, that’s never going to change,” she mentioned. “We just want to see the application process simplified, and the recertification part is an issue.”
Eman Rimawi-Doster underlined the needlessness of getting folks with disabilities reapply throughout a rally at Metropolis Corridor for increasing public transit on Feb. 4. She is a incapacity justice organizer and a double amputee.
“I am not a starfish,” she mentioned. “My legs are not going to grow back.”
Certification kinds could be accessed right here or on the in-person Buyer Service places.
Making use of in particular person is usually a barrier to accessing diminished fares for seniors or folks with disabilities who could also be mobility impaired and battle to achieve customer support places. The MTA will ship its Decreased-Fare OMNY playing cards to those that select to use by mail.
For those who select to enroll by mail, obtain an software right here for candidates aged 65 and older, which requires a passport-style photograph and a replica of a legitimate ID.
Obtain an software right here for candidates with disabilities, which incorporates documentation of a qualifying incapacity along with a passport-style photograph and a replica of a legitimate ID.
Mail the applying and paperwork addressed to the MTA Decreased Fare Program at 130 Livingston St. Brooklyn, NY 11201-9625.
Subway fares for teenagers and college students
As much as three kids underneath 44 inches tall trip totally free with a fare-paying grownup.
Pupil OMNY playing cards, distributed by NYC public faculties at first of the varsity yr, are legitimate 24/7 — even throughout summer season. College students stand up to 4 free rides a day and obtain a brand new card from their college administration annually.
Ferry reductions
For New Yorkers who cruise metropolis waters, there’s the Ferry Low cost Program administered by the NYC Ferry. People are eligible for $1.45 one-way tickets if they’re age 65 or older, have a incapacity or are already enrolled in Honest Fares or the Decreased-Fare program. However enrollment isn’t automated; those that need the low cost should apply individually to the ferry system, which is operated by the Hornblower firm.
On-line functions and bodily software kinds in a number of languages could be discovered right here.
For those who select to not submit an internet software, drop off accomplished kinds to the Wall Avenue Pier 11 ticket sales space, or mail them to the Ferry Low cost Program at 63 Flushing Ave., Constructing 5, Suite 100 Brooklyn, NY 11205.
A Wall Avenue-bound ferry arrives on the South Williamsburg terminal, Sept. 25, 2020. Credit score: Hiram Alejandro Durán/THE CITY
Highschool college students in grades 9 to 12 at public, nonpublic and constitution faculties may additionally obtain $1.45 one-way ferry tickets with the Ferry Pupil Low cost Program. College students can select whether or not they need to entry a ticket low cost code on the NYC Ferry cellular app or obtain discounted paper tickets solely out there on the Wall Avenue Pier 11 ticketing window.
To get the coed low cost, mother and father or guardians should log in or create a NYC Pupil Account for discounted tickets on the NYC Ferry app. They could additionally submit an software for discounted paper tickets on-line or on the Wall Avenue Pier 11 ticket sales space.
Pupil low cost tickets are solely out there to make use of on weekdays — meant for college students travelling to and from college. They’re accessible till the tip of August, when college students should re-enroll in this system and obtain a brand new code.
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