Academy for Social Action

The City Council’s Education Committee, chaired by Council Member Robert Jackson, and the Transportation Committee, chaired by Council Member James Vacca, will hold a joint oversight hearing on How will cutting metrocards impact student access to education?. Below is information regarding the upcoming hearing:

Hearing title: “Oversight – How will cutting metrocards impact student access to education?”

Date: Friday, March 12th

Time: 1:00 pm (*public testimony is estimated to begin after 3:00 pm)

Place: City Hall, Council Chambers

New York City public schools serve approximately 1.1 million students, and while some students walk to school, nearly 600,000 are dependent upon subsidized transportation of some kind, with the vast majority of students relying on mass transit in order to travel to and from school. Non-public school students are also eligible for subsidized transportation. Currently, students can obtain subsidized transportation to school in a variety of ways: using a half-fare student Metrocard, using a no-fare student Metrocard, or by means of bus companies contracted through the DOE.

Since the 1940’s, student travel in New York City has been subsidized. Beginning in the mid-1990’s, the City and the State each agreed to contribute $45 million every year to the student Metrocard program. According to the MTA, the overall cost of the program is $214 million annually, which left the MTA to fund the remaining $124 million after the State and City had paid their share. In 2009, due to the economic situation, the State decided to reduce their annual contribution to the program to $6 million, while the City’s share remains at $45 million. The State’s cut would necessitate the MTA funding a greater share of the program’s costs than before. Due to the large budget deficits the MTA faces, the organization decided last December to phase out and eliminate the student Metrocard program by 2011.

We invite members of Community Education Councils, parents, students, educators, advocates, and all other stakeholders and interested members of the public to testify at this hearing. Testimony will be limited to 2-3 minutes per person to allow as many as possible to testify. Although the hearing starts at 1:00 pm, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, as well as other witnesses (such as elected officials) have been invited to testify and answer questions from Council Members at the outset, so we do not expect to hear from others until 3:00 pm or later. Please make sure you fill out a witness slip on the desk of the Sergeant-at-arms if you wish to testify. If you plan to bring written testimony, please bring at least 20 copies.

Please share this information with any interested groups or individuals. Thank you for your assistance and we look forward to seeing you on March 12th!