06/25/2026
Recently, we’ve been getting a ton of comments from folks telling us that a Fair Fares expansion couldn’t happen in the city budget because the Governor is in charge of the MTA, and the MTA is a state-run entity that the Mayor has no direct control over. Yes, that’s all true! But it misses the mark on Fair Fares.
So let’s clear this up!
Fair Fares is a CITY-RUN and CITY-FUNDED program that helps low income New Yorkers with their transportation costs. The program is not included in the MTA budget or the state budget.
In fact, it’s not even part of the city’s transportation budget. Fair Fares is administered by the Human Resources Administration within the city’s Department of Social Services. And the city’s Department of Social Services is funded by….. you guessed it, the CITY!
We hope this clears up some confusion as we head into the last week of budget negotiations before the July 1 deadline. Now that you know where the money comes from, email City Hall in support of expanding its reach for more than 2.1 million New Yorkers.