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Student leaders and policy groups push City Council for free MetroCard pilot for low‑income CUNY students
Summary
Student activists, CUNY staff and researchers urged the City Council to pilot free MetroCard/OmniCard access for low‑income and Pell‑eligible students, citing transportation costs as a major barrier to attendance and completion and estimating a full‑universe price tag of roughly $323 million if extended to all students.
Student leaders, nonprofit researchers and CUNY representatives urged the New York City Council’s Higher Education Committee to fund a pilot that would provide free MetroCards or OmniCards to low‑income CUNY students, and to better coordinate existing city programs such as Fair Fares with campus outreach.
“Transportation costs are one of the biggest non‑tuition barriers to college success, especially for the 90 percent of CUNY community college students who rely on public transit,” Eli Dvorkin, editorial and policy director at the Center for an Urban Future, told the committee. Dvorkin recommended a pilot targeted to low‑income and Pell‑eligible students who are not already covered by programs such as ASAP or ACE.
Student leaders said the council should aim for direct distribution through CUNY rather than a burdensome enrollment process. “This hearing is about removing financial barriers, not half of a barrier,” Akeem Pollock, vice chair for legislative affairs of the University Student Senate, said; he and student leaders described petitions and advocacy that helped place free MetroCards in the council’s budget priorities.
CUNY staff provided a rough figure for extending full‑fare MetroCards to every student: about $323 million. Witnesses said a more targeted pilot — for Pell‑eligible and community college students not already enrolled in programs that provide transit support — would substantially reduce the cost while reaching the students most likely to be deterred by transit expenses.
Advocates and CUNY staff described administrative hurdles to expanding access via existing city programs. Fair Fares can reduce transit costs for low‑income riders, but witnesses said the application process and eligibility rules create barriers. “Enrolling in a program like Fair Fares has shown to be a pretty challenging barrier,” Dvorkin said; he suggested direct allocation by CUNY to minimize bureaucracy and speed access.
Student testimony and advocates emphasized outreach and staffing. Several witnesses recommended training counselors, student ambassadors or peer navigators to help students enroll in assistance programs and to distribute transit benefits at points of contact such as FAFSA drives and orientation, rather than relying solely on students to navigate external sign‑up processes.
What happens next: Committee members signaled willingness to include a MetroCard pilot in budget language and asked CUNY and student leaders for cost breakdowns for targeted pilots (for example, Pell‑eligible community college students not in ASAP/ACE). Student groups said they would submit detailed counts and cost proposals to the council.
Ending: Witnesses urged the council to pair transit access with advising, emergency aid and awareness campaigns so that students who receive cards can use them to persist in courses and maintain timely progress toward degrees.
