The Elimination Of Free Bus Passes For New York City Students Raises Eyebrows, Draws Concerns

Online, May 3, 2010 (Newswire.com) - To help bridge the widening financial gap, the MTA in New York City plans on cutting the budget by phasing out free metro cards for students. Students have been receiving free metro cards since 1948.

"Everyone seems to agree that students deserve to go to school for free," says Roy Paul, education school board official. "The problem is over who should be responsible for paying for it."

According to MTA Press Secretary Jeremy Soffin, the proposal which would require that students pay half fare in 2010 and then full fare in September of 2011, is motivated purely by financial reasons and is not intended to target students or purposefully cause families economic hardships. During the interview he said, "The MTA is struggling to fill a deficit within its budget and unfortunately some tough decisions had to be made." He also shed light on the state's inability to keep their end of the bargain when it comes to an agreement which dictates that the MTA, New York City and New York State would be responsible for sharing 1/3 of the cost of the metro cards system, which equals $45 million each.

New York City Councilman Robert Jackson, the chair of the Education committee agrees with Soffin. "This year the state has only allocated $6 million to the MTA for student metro cards which is not enough," said Jackson, who also happens to be chair of the council's education committee. He firmly believes that students should receive free metro cards to go to school and insisted that Albany needed to come up with the extra money.

There are several areas in New York City that will be negatively effected by students not receiving metro cards such as in Harlem where the average income for a family ranges in the low 30's to 40's. "Families are already struggling and they don't need the added expense", says Paul.

In recent weeks, there have been reports that Albany may come up with the money to re-install free metro cards, but that has yet to be "set in stone."