Directs the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to provide discounted monthly passes to college, graduate and career education students for the purpose of commuting to and from classes.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5701
SPONSOR: Solages TITLE OF BILL:
An act to direct the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to provide
discounted monthly passes to college and career education students for
the purpose of commuting to and from classes
PURPOSE:
To increase the affordability of transportation by providing discounted
monthly passes to college and career education students to physically
access education services.
SUMMARY:
Section 1. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority shall extend the
provisions of its Monthly Tickets for Schools program providing
discounted monthly transportation passes to include students utilizing
the Long Island Railroad and the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company
to commute to attend post-secondary education classes at qualified
colleges, universities and career education schools.
Section 2. Sets the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
With the price of public transportation on the rise, New York's students
are subsequently impacted as public transportation remains the forefront
method to travel to class. The base fare for subway, local buses, and
paratransit has increased 15 cents, from $2.75 to $2.90, and is project-
ed to increase {11 The increased price of public transportation impedes
the academic experience of students, hindering their ability to phys-
ically attend courses and, ultimately, limiting accessibility to educa-
tion.
Furthermore, lower-income students have a harder time affording public
transportation. Although public transportation was created to be acces-
sible for all, access to such transport is slowly turning into a luxury.
Without further preventative action, the unaffordability of public
transportation can generate long-lasting negative financial effects for
New York's students. This legislation simply expands an already existing
discount program to students.
RACIAL JUSTICE IMPACT:
The use of public transportation is strongly tied to race. Communities
of color are much more likely to use public transportation
2. To
ensure that students of color are provided with affordable public trans-
portation, this discount must be expanded to university-level students.
GENDER JUSTICE IMPACT:
TBD.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A9239; referred to corporations, authorities and commissions.
2021-22: A10673; referred to corporations, authorities and commissions.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
1 https ://westchester. news12. com/mta-approves-new-ra te-h ikes-no-
ma tter-ho w-you-get-to-nyc-i ts-going-to-cost-you-more
2https ://nyc .streetsblog.
org/2021/06/18/report-racial-and-economic-inequities-in-trans it-affec-
taccessibility-to-jobs-healthcare
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5701
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 20, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to direct the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to provide
discounted monthly passes to college and career education students for
the purpose of commuting to and from classes
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. a. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the
2 Metropolitan Transportation Authority ("the Authority") shall extend the
3 provisions of its Monthly Tickets for Schools program providing
4 discounted monthly transportation passes to include students utilizing
5 the Long Island Railroad and the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company
6 to commute to attend post-secondary education classes at qualified
7 colleges, universities and career education schools. The extension of
8 the program shall be known as the College and Career Education Partner-
9 ship Program.
10 b. In order to qualify for the the College and Career Education Part-
11 nership Program, a college, university or career education school must:
12 (i) be accredited by the New York State Board of Regents and the
13 Commissioner of Education or accredited by a nationally recognized
14 accrediting agency or association accepted as such by the regents of the
15 state of New York;
16 (ii) make application to the Authority to be added to the list of
17 colleges, universities and career education schools approved for the
18 program; and
19 (iii) upon notification of Authority approval, provide access through
20 its official website for full-time college and career education students
21 attending the college, university or career education school to register
22 through their website for the reduced fee passes.
23 c. A qualifying college may be a community college.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09935-01-5
A. 5701 2
1 d. Any full-time student attending a qualifying college, university or
2 career education school may purchase the reduced fare pass. A student in
3 their final term prior to graduating from a qualifying college, univer-
4 sity or career education school shall qualify to purchase the reduced
5 fare pass, even if such student is not carrying a full-time course load.
6 e. Passes issued through the College and Career Education Partnership
7 Program shall offer a minimum monthly discount of 25% off the full-price
8 cost of a monthly pass for students.
9 f. The College and Career Education Partnership Program shall be
10 implemented by the Authority prior to the commencement of the 2025-2026
11 school year and shall apply to that school year and all subsequent
12 school years. The Authority shall not pay any costs or expenses related
13 to the reduced fare program from its operating or capital budgets and
14 may only implement the reduced fare program with funds appropriated to
15 it by the State of New York for such purpose.
16 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
