Pols favor reduced Metrocards for low-income riders
Espinal says access to transit services is vital
Several Brooklyn members of the City Council have climbed aboard an effort by transportation and anti-poverty advocacy groups to get Mayor Bill de Blasio to introduce a reduced fare Metrocard system for low income New Yorkers.
Councilmembers Vincent Gentile, Stephen Levin, Rafael Espinal and Carlos Menchaca are among those speaking out in the wake of a press conference held at City Hall on Oct. 19 to push the “Fair Fares” campaign led by the Community Service Society (CSS) and the Riders Alliance.
At the press conference, CSS and the Riders Alliance announced that 30 elected officials from across the city and 29 community-based groups have joined in support of the effort.
CSS and Riders Alliance also released a letter to de Blasio urging him to include funding in his Fiscal Year 2018 executive budget for a program that would offer half-price MetroCards to New Yorkers between the ages of 18 and 64 living in households with incomes at or below the Federal Poverty Level.