BILL NUMBER: S8620
SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act enacting the one city, one fare act
 
PURPOSE:
To improve access to transit service in subway deserts, realize latent
demand for enhanced intracity railroad travel, restoring revenue and
ridership on the LIRR and Metro-North to above pre-COVID levels, and
rationalize its existing fare structure to better serve New York City
railroad riders.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 is the short title, the "one city, one fare act".
Section 2 states the legislative findings and intent.
Section 3 directs the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to conduct a
field study of the creation of a single fare zone across the Long Island
Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad within New York City and report such
findings to the governor and the legislature two years after implementa-
tion.
Section 4 is the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Today, a patchwork of ticket options leave New York City's railroad
riders paying vastly different prices for the same service based on
where in the city they live. This exacerbates existing transit inequi-
ties as those unable to afford the railroad instead take the slowest
buses in America and deprives the MTA of sorely needed ridership and
revenue.
This legislation requires the MTA to conduct a field study of a single
railroad fare zone for New York City. This builds off of best practices
of SEPTA and the META, two far less resourced transit authorities which
have both implemented a single city zone on their commuter railroads
with joint commuter rail-subway/bus tickets. The MTA has already imple-
mented a single fare zone for daily intracity (meaning within New York
City) railroad tickets, but only for one railroad or the other. This
daily option, known as the CityTicket, has made New York City's railroad
stations some of the only to surpass pre-COVID ridership, some by as
much as 166%, and saved New Yorkers over $100 million according to
Governor Hochul. This is clear evidence of latent demand for enhanced
intracity commuter rail options, yet the MTA has not expanded CityTick-
et, nor have they provided a reasoning for declining to do so.
Instead, city railroad riders pay vastly different fares based on
geography. The cost of a weekly or monthly ticket varies whether you're
'traveling from Jamaica to Grand Central, Woodside to Grand Central, or
Fordham to Grand Central-as much as a $17.50 weekly or $45 monthly
difference (2025-'26 prices). City riders seeking to use both the LIRR
and Metro-North in the same trip must pay two times the price.
The One City, One Fare Act makes sense and saves cents. It will broaden
the MTA's customer base in areas unserved by the subway like Eastern and
Southeast Queens and the East Bronx - ensuring equitable access to
affordable transit for residents of subway deserts.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Positive. The PTA's own data shows implementation of a single fare zone
for daily tickets has grown ridership at city Metro-North railroad
stations by as much as 166% above pre-COVID levels. On the LIRR, city
ridership growth has outpaced the systemwide average of 179% with 183%
growth at Rosedale, 215% at Queens Village, and 224% at Jamaica. CityT-
icket now accounts for 24% of total ridership in the LIRR's city termi-
nal zone.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.