After Years Of Delay, OMNY Tap And Go Payment System Begins Today On Roosevelt Island Tram Announces MTA Chair Janno Lieber - RIOC President Shelton Haynes Adds That As Of Now, Metro Cards Holders Will No Longer Be Allowed To Skip The Huge Tourist Lines, Angering Many Residents

After several years of delay and a "Bring OMNY To The Roosevelt Island Tram" online petition which collected more than 1400 signatures, the MTA's OMNY tap and go payment system began working today on the Roosevelt Island Tram. 

MTA chairman Janno Lieber walked up the Roosevelt Island Tram Second Avenue Manhattan station staircase 

and used the OMNY to enter through the turnstile today.

He then rode a not very crowded Tram over the East River to Roosevelt Island 

with Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President  Shelton Haynes and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine  

for a press conference announcing OMNY's installation for the Roosevelt Island Tram.

During the press conference, I asked if Roosevelt Island residents would continue to be able to skip the long Tram line of tourists by using their Metro Card.

Mr Lieber said:

I do not know the answer... 

I do know the Roosevelt Island leadership and the electeds are determined to make sure that mass transit here works really well for Roosevelt Islanders. So you're going to continue to look at that issue in consultation with whoever is relevant, whether it's technical folks or legal or lawyers or whatever.

But for us, the bottom line is Omni, it just makes travel faster for everybody. So whoever's waiting on that line, whichever line they're in, or if they're in one line, it's going to be a lot faster with Omni than people buying Metro Cars one by one... 

RIOC President Shelton Haynes added:

Right now we're currently assessing situation and it's very fluid. As it stands we do not anticipate having a line where Metro Card holders can skip. We're still assessing, we're still going to make the best decision possible for Roosevelt Island commuters... 

According to this comment from Roosevelt Islander Instagram post on the Roosevelt Island OMNY installation today:

@rooseveltislandny @mta Who are the specific individuals responsible for adding OMNY to tram at the same time the F train is shutting down for 7 months? If any of the people responsible for this actually lived on the island it would have never gone through at this time. 

Now residents will have to wait behind hundreds of tourists on a tram line that regularly wraps around the block on the Manhattan side. Previously we could at least skip the bulk of the line by having a metrocard preloaded and ready. This, combined with limited train service, makes the daily commute for thousands of residents and island students very complicated and much longer. The once an hour red bus that moves 55 people on weekends barely helps. 

I’m seriously shocked at how short-sighted island leadership can be.

We’ve also been repeatedly told that a resident/tram priority pass is simply impossible despite the fact this is exactly what happened in 1976 when the tram first opened so that residents could get home ahead of the flood of tourists coming to see the new tram. A priority pass isn’t ‘impossible’, you’re just not trying hard enough or simply don’t care enough. 

How are you gonna help resolve the situation? Please come up with an acceptable plan. Residents are angry and the pressure will continue to mount otherwise. 

Other comments include about today's Roosevelt Island Tram OMNY installation on the Roosevelt Islander Instagram page include;

• This is terrible for Roosevelt Island residents that will now have to wait in crowds of tourists to get home instead of skipping lines with Metrocards
• exactly, ugh. The worst timing
• I don’t know how we will get to our homes.
• Hahahahaha leave it to @sheltonjhaynes to finally set up OMNY just in time for there to be no subway and now residents have to wait in line for the tram. What an absolute joke
• and now look out for an announcement about the great @sheltonjhaynes getting Omni for Roosevelt Island to add to his many accomplishments that he’s taking credit for that were all started by someone else.
• I think it will create a more even flow. Good news and I don’t have to switch between my phone and card. 👍
• About time.
• Great!
• Great news, now #rooseveltisland just needs a working subway station
• finally 🙌

Here's the full Roosevelt Island Tram OMNY press conference from this afternoon.

MTA reports on Twitter (X)

Reach new heights with OMNY — now, you can tap and go on the Roosevelt Island Tramway! It's the easier and more flexible way to pay your fare.

Tramway rides are also included in our weekly fare cap! Start tapping any day, and after 12 paid trips, the rest of your rides that week… pic.twitter.com/bDR2gVL5ZJ

— MTA (@MTA) August 24, 2023

and RIOC reports on Instagram. Check out the Instagram comments.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (@rooseveltislandny)

Here's how to use OMNY.

UPDATE 8/25:

After the press conference, I asked the MTA:

What is the revenue allocation of the Tram fare between Rioc and the MTA?

My understanding is that Rioc currently receives approximately $2.00 of every swipe at the Tram. Has that changed with the installation of OMNY?

What is the new revenue allocation of the Tram fare?

A MTA spokeperson answered:

With OMNY, RIOC will get the benefit of the full value of fare revenue for pay go transactions. 

Currently, RIOC receives $2 for Full Fare and $1 for Reduced Fare when a customer utilizes MetroCard.

The MTA press release on Roosevelt Island Tram OMNY installation is here.

Roosevelt Island Tram Metro Card Machines Not Taking Credit Cards, Only Cash, For Weeks - Resident Asks If Any Plan To Fix Before 2024, MTA Says They Are Working With Verizon To Fix

A Roosevelt Island residents asked yesterday:

The metro card machines at the tram haven’t taken credit cards in weeks (?). Do you know anything? Any plans to fix them before 2024? ;)

PSD will let anyone through the gate who asks.

The Roosevelt Island Twitterverse has been asking the MTA to fix the Tram Metro Card Machines too.

Hi Megan and thanks for reaching out. We'll get this escalated on our end to look into what's happening with the MetroCard Machines there. ^EL

— NYCT Subway (@NYCTSubway) January 22, 2023

@NYCTSubway neither of the metrocard machines are working on the Roosevelt Island tram and no OMNY so NO WAY to access the tram if need to refill card - no sign on machines either. YOU SUCK!!

— MARIDOG (@MarieFetzer) January 14, 2023

Just bring OMNY.

— Just call me merchant ✪ (@mfanaobeba) January 25, 2023

In response to my Tweet yesterday, the MTA says they are working with Verizon to get Metro Card machines fixed.

Good afternoon. We are working with Verizon to get these machines back up and running again. We apologize for any inconvenience there. ^JP

— NYCT Subway (@NYCTSubway) January 24, 2023

Comments on the Roosevelt Islander Instagram page are: 

• Utterly insane. Several instances of “coins only”, as well.
• Ridiculous
• It's unbelievable that the Tram still doesn't have the OMNY system installed. It's as if we come LAST in NYC. It causes unreasonable lines, at least on the Manhattan side. IT'S WAY PAST DUE. We're dealing with less than 10 turnstiles at 2 locations, why does it take so long???

The MTA reported last November that the Roosevelt Island Tram will be integrated with the Roosevelt Island Tram sometime in 2023.

Only 1 Metro Card Machine Working On All Of Roosevelt Island, Both Tram Metro Card Machines Not Working, One Subway Metro Card Machine Working - MTA Says Sorry For Inconvenience And Will Correct, RIOC Says Nothing

Only 1 Metro Card Machine working on Roosevelt Island right now. Both Tram Machines out of service until at least July 21 during @RIOCny Tram Haul Rope Replacement. 1 Machine working at @mta Roosevelt Island subway station. Help! @JulieMenin @SeawrightForNY @RiocCeo pic.twitter.com/R1Nd9Wfmeu

— Roosevelt Islander (@Rooseveltisland) July 11, 2022

Hi, there. Those machines self-report and our team will respond to get them corrected. Sorry for the inconvenience. ^KB

— NYCT Subway. Wear a Mask. (@NYCTSubway) July 11, 2022

If only the Roosevelt Island Tram had OMNY payment system.

Thank you @RepMaloney for signing the petition to bring OMNY to the Roosevelt Island Tram. Please join her…@LASHINOZAKI @Rooseveltisland https://t.co/YB04Cro2fH pic.twitter.com/s6AXSX3vJr

— Paul Krikler (he/him) 🚲🛴🦽🚠🚂 (@PaulKrikler) July 9, 2022

Also, according to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC): 

Please be advised that due to the Tram haul rope replacement on Tuesday, July 12th , the Tram will operate on an hourly schedule from 10 AM to 2 PM. We appreciate your patience during this time.

UPDATE 7/12 - RIOC adds:

Please be advised that on Tuesday, July 12th. the South Tram cabin will operate its normal schedule between 10am and 2pm.  The hourly schedule has been cancelled.

Roosevelt Island Tram Metro Card Machines Not Accepting Credit Cards, Cash Only Until MTA And Verizon Fix Malfunction

A Roosevelt Island resident asked last night:

Tram station mta machines

I wondered if you knew or saw any announcement that all 4 MTA metrocards machines are not accepting cards? Numerous people were stranded on both sides and not one sign or attendant there to help. I have not taken tram since last week but some state this has been going on this weekend?

I asked Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Public Information Officer about the Tram Metrocard machines. Mr Robertson replied today:

Yes, the credit card machine function on the ticket machines at the Tram are not working.

We’re working with the MTA and Verizon to correct the situation. I’ll provide you an update once the problem gets resolved.

This afternoon the Tram Metrocard Machines

were still cash only.

Roosevelt Island Transportation This Weekend F & E Train Service To And From Manhattan This Weekend, Only 1 Tram Cabin Working & No Metro Card Machines At RI Tram Station - But NYC Ferry New Summer Schedule Has More Service

According to the MTA, there will be Roosevelt Island F Train service to and from



Roosevelt Island this weekend.

Also:

TRACK MAINTENANCE | 9:45 PM Fri, Jun 15 to 5 AM Mon, Jun 18 E Trains run via the F in both directions between W 4 St, Manhattan and 21 St-Queensbridge F Station, Queens

Remember only 1 Roosevelt Island Tram Cabin operating this weekend and for at least 2 more weeks.

And no Metro Card Vending Machines working at Roosevelt Island Tram station. Fill up your Metro Card at RI Subway or Tram Manhattan station.

There is Roosevelt Island ferry service on the Astoria Route. Here's the new summer schedule for Roosevelt Island ferry service.

No Roosevelt Island Tram Station MTA Metro Card Vending Machine Thru June 16 During Tram Station Repairs - Fill Up Your Metro Card At Manhattan Tram Station Or RI Subway Station

MTA Metro Card vending machines will be out of service at the Roosevelt Island side Tram Station until June 16 but there is one machine working

at the Manhattan Tram Station.

 Have you noticed lines forming behind the Manhattan Tram Metro Card Machine blocking those with Metro Cards from going thru the turnstile to the platform area.

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Public Information Officer Alonza Robertson explains the reason for no Roosevelt Island Tram station Metro Card Vending machine: According to Mr. Robertson:

Due to on-going construction work on Tram platforms, at both Roosevelt Island and Midtown Manhattan, the MetroCard vending machines will be out of service at the Roosevelt Island Station until June 16.

Commuters are advised to buy a roundtrip ticket at the Midtown Manhattan Station or at the MTA Roosevelt Island MTA subway station.

The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) will operate a free, weekday roundtrip Red Bus service – from Midtown Manhattan to Roosevelt Island - from 3 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. to help alleviate evening rush-hour waiting and congestion due to reduced tram cabin availability during this construction period.

This new construction completes work that began last July when RIOC contracted with Specialty Construction System, Inc. to address corrosion and water damage to both stations’ platforms at a cost of $2.15 million. The project included the installation and repair of station roofing, removal and repair of the structural slabs and metal column and building a new ADA-compliant access ramp on the north ramp of the Roosevelt Island Tram Station.

New concrete slabs, which are the top surfaces of the platforms at both stations, will be waterproofed and receive new traffic coating during the next month. The project went on hiatus in December 2017 until New York City area’s daily temperatures were forecast to be above those required for the installation.

“Although uncracked concrete will typically keep out liquid water, water vapor can still penetrate quite easily,” said Stephen Noone, RIOC’s assistant vice president of Capital Planning and Projects. “Keeping water drained away from the concrete foundations and preventing it from moving through the platforms is essential to having a successful structure,” he said.

Once that work is complete, the city’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) will re-install turnstiles, ticket machine kiosks and re-program electronic emergency exit doors.

Much of the platform project construction is being done around the North Tram’s boarding and de-boarding ramps on both platforms, and thus “we will be limited to only the South Tram servicing the public and because of this, waiting times will unfortunately increase,” said Armando Cordova, operations and maintenance manager for Leitner-Pomo of America, the engineering sub-contractor that operates the Tram for RIOC.

RIOC’s Director of Transportation Cyril Opperman said the Red Bus shuttle service will begin at 3 p.m., each weekday during the construction period, operating roundtrip from Midtown Manhattan to Roosevelt Island every half hour leaving from the southwest side of Second Avenue between 58th and 59th streets.

“The service is not being offered during the morning commute because the average weekday traffic congestion to Midtown Manhattan is so great, the roundtrip shuttle is not time efficient,” Opperman said.

The MTA’s F-Train, NYC Ferry and the Q-102 bus will be in operation to Roosevelt Island during the 30-day platform construction period that began May 16.

Also this week, a new construction project to upgrade the Manhattan Tram Station elevator began and the two building phases will be finished by next Spring, RIOC officials said.

The elevator project, at 59th Street and Second Avenue, is part of a series on-going transportation upgrades to the Roosevelt Island Tram. The design calls for an iconic, two-bank, ADA-compliant glass elevator which replaces the existing elevator that has outlasted its expected mechanical life.

During a two-year period, RIOC solicited public input, met with New York City Department of Parks and Recreation officials and community members to shape and finalize the project design which will require custom manufacturing.

The construction contract was awarded in December 2017 to Sea Crest Construction Corporation, a subsidiary of Scalamandre Construction, Inc., both based in Long Island, New York. Both companies have decades of public works project experience building transit plazas, industrial plants, roads, bridges and airport terminals across the New York metropolitan area.

The project will be completed in two phases; the first of the two glass elevator banks will be built and the existing old elevator will be dismantled. Then the second glass elevator bank will be constructed so that there will always be a working elevator.

“We have begun doing some isolated exploration and boring work on the site this week,” said RIOC Public Information Officer Alonza Robertson. “We will continue that and then set up the site construction fencing by the end of the month.”

The fencing will not encroach or restrict access to the surrounding sidewalks or station entryway. During the steel erection work, an overhead sidewalk shed will be installed. The park area around the Tram station will be closed and several planter beds will be temporarily relocated.

Architectural renderings of the Manhattan Tram Station elevator project design are available upon request.

Good News, Roosevelt Island F & E Train Service To And From Manhattan This Weekend - No Metro Card Vending Machine Credit Card Transactions Very Early Saturday Morning

According to the MTA, there will be Roosevelt Island F Train service

to and from Manhattan this weekend. Also, there will be E Train Service to Roosevelt Island:

SIGNAL MAINTENANCE E Trains run via the F in both directions between 21 St-Queensbridge and 2 Av

Weekend, 9:45 PM Fri to 5 AM Mon, Feb 9 - 12

Plan on no credit card transactions at Metro Card machines early Saturday morning. According to the MTA:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that during the very early morning hours Saturday, Feb. 10, between 12:01 a.m. and 6:00 a.m, MetroCard Vending Machines will not process credit and debit transactions. The overnight timing of the upgrade was chosen for when ridership is at its lowest and will help minimize the impact on the vast majority of New York City Transit customers. All machines will be accepting credit and debit cards again beginning at 6.am. on Saturday, Feb. 10. This upgrade impacts all MetroCard Vending Machines, in subway stations, PATH stations, the JFK AirTrain system and at LaGuardia Airport.

Good News, Roosevelt Island F Train Service To And From Manhattan This Weekend - No Metro Card Vending Machine Credit Card Transactions Next Weekend

According to the MTA, there will be Roosevelt Island F Train service

to and from Manhattan this weekend.

What’s up F line on Roosevelt island? No F train and board is not working... #fline #mta #rooseveltisland pic.twitter.com/N0SxxdvkIB

— Hiro@NY (@Torafumihiro) February 1, 2018

Also, plan on no credit card transactions at Metro Card machines for next weekend. MTA originally scheduled Metro Card machine upgrade for this weekend but postponed to next weekend after protest about lack of notice.

We heard you all loud and clear. We’re going to postpone this weekend’s planned MetroCard machine upgrade for a week while we work to shorten the process and more clearly answer customer concerns. More to come on Monday.

— NYCT Subway (@NYCTSubway) February 1, 2018

Millions of New Yorkers rely on the subway to get to work and get around our City every day. Giving us 36 hours notice about this change was unacceptable—and I said so! Thank you @MTA for listening to New Yorkers and reversing course. https://t.co/bQwThqm0Oc

— NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson (@NYCSpeakerCoJo) February 1, 2018

Good News, Roosevelt Island F Train Service To And From Manhattan This Weekend And Tram Platform Repair Project On Target To Be Finished By End Of 2017 But No Metro Card Vending Machine At RI Tram Station Until January 2018

According to the MTA, there will be Roosevelt Island F Train service

to and from Manhattan this weekend.

Also, there will be E Train service to Roosevelt Island from Manhattan this weekend:

E Jamaica Center-bound trains run via the F from W 4 St to 21 St-Queensbridge Station Weekend, 11:45 PM Fri to 8 PM Sat, Nov 3 - 4

Remember, only 1 Roosevelt Island Tram Cabin running now through the end of 2017 due to the Tram Platform Repair Project.

And:

Due to ongoing construction of the Roosevelt Island Tram Plaza platform, the MTA Metro Card vending machines will not be accessible from Thursday, October 26th, 2017 through Saturday, January 6th, 2018.

Please use the MTA Metro Card vending machines located on the Manhattan Tram Plaza or at the Roosevelt Island Subway station located at 400 Main St.

Good News, Roosevelt Island F Train Service To And From Manhattan This Weekend And Tram Platform Repair Project On Target To Be Finished By End Of 2017 But No Metro Card Vending Machine At RI Tram Station Until January 2018

According to the MTA, there will be Roosevelt Island F Train service

to and from Manhattan this weekend.

Remember, only 1 Roosevelt Island Tram Cabin running now through the end of 2017 due to the Tram Platform Repair Project.

And:

Due to ongoing construction of the Roosevelt Island Tram Plaza platform, the MTA Metro Card vending machines will not be accessible from Thursday, October 26th, 2017 through Saturday, January 6th, 2018.

Please use the MTA Metro Card vending machines located on the Manhattan Tram Plaza or at the Roosevelt Island Subway station located at 400 Main St.

Roosevelt Island Tram Station Metro Card Machines Out Of Service October 26 - January 6 Says RIOC - Use Manhattan Tram Or Subway Station Vending Machines Instead

 Image Of Roosevelt Island Subway Station Metro Card Machines

According to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp:

Due to ongoing construction of the Roosevelt Island Tram Plaza platform, the MTA Metro Card vending machines will not be accessible from Thursday, October 26th, 2017 through Saturday, January 6th, 2018.

Please use the MTA Metro Card vending machines located on the Manhattan Tram Plaza or at the Roosevelt Island Subway station located at 400 Main St.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Cashless Residents Want MTA To Fix Roosevelt Island F Train Subway Station Metrocard Vending Machines To Accept Credit Card Transactions And Better Customer Service At Station Booth Too

The Roosevelt Island F Train subway station MetroCard vending machines have been broken and not accepting credit card transactions since at least last Saturday.

A reader reports:

Both MTA machines at the Roosevelt F train station only accept cash. This is very inconvenient. Can RIOC talk to the MTA management? Thanks

I asked the MTA today:

@NYCTSubway Roosevelt Island subway station metro card machines broken. Not accepting credit cards for several days. When will it be fixed.

— Roosevelt Islander (@Rooseveltisland) August 9, 2016

Have not received answer back from the MTA yet.

Earlier today, a resident tweeted about the Roosevelt Island F train subway station MetroCard vending machine not accepting credit card transactions:

@NYCTSubway @MTA so in my local station, both machines were not accepting credit cards- which is a major issue in and of itself

— Kira (@kirarose14) August 9, 2016

@NYCTSubway @MTA I go to the customer service/station rep in the booth, explained the situation & asked if she could refill it with my card

— Kira (@kirarose14) August 9, 2016

@NYCTSubway @MTA she said that I'm supposed to walk with both cash & card. Like what? It's not my fault the machine isn't accepting cards

— Kira (@kirarose14) August 9, 2016

@NYCTSubway @MTA instead of responding like a courteous MTA rep, SHE begins yelling at ME . I'm the customer, you don't yell at me

— Kira (@kirarose14) August 9, 2016

@NYCTSubway @MTA she could've explained this in a normal voice & assist me in what to do since I had no cash& could not refill my Metrocard

— Kira (@kirarose14) August 9, 2016

@NYCTSubway @MTA the train are always late, the machines don't accept cards half the time, & your employees lack basic customer service

— Kira (@kirarose14) August 9, 2016

@NYCTSubway thank you for your swift response! This was at Roosevelt Island train station at approximately 12:30pm today

— Kira (@kirarose14) August 9, 2016

Let's see how swiftly the MetroCard vending machines are fixed and accept credit card transactions again.

UPDATE 8/11 - The Roosevelt Island F Train Subway Station MetroCard vending machines were accepting credit card transactions today.

What To Do With Your Discontinued 30 Day MTA Metro Card and When Will Roosevelt Island F Train Subway Entrance Ever Be Fixed?

Image Of Metro Card Machine From Pixel Punchout

Did you buy a 30 day MTA Metro Card before the price hikes went into effect at the end of 2010 only to discover when trying to use it for the first time recently that the Metro Card would not work? Roosevelt Island resident Trevre reports (on March 17) what happened to him when he tried to use such a card:

March 1st as I went to swipe my monthly metrocard the meter said “see agent”. I went to see the agent and told me I needed to send in my card for a claim. Apparently because the card was purchased prior to 12/31/10 via wageworks (a paycheck program that automatically deducts and purchases your metrocard), it was no longer usable.

First I thought this was deceiving of the MTA to sell 30 day cars prior to the end of 2010, which wouldn’t work in 2011, when their expiration data is not until the end of 2011, and second what am I supposed to do while I send in my card in the mean time. I had to purchase another 30 day card. I submitted the claim on 3/1/2011. I called the MTA today and spoke with Anthony Samuel a supervisor who indicated the claim has not even been entered and the soonest it would be addressed is 4/1/2011. I asked him if he thought this was acceptable to which he responded it is what it is. I asked him who was responsible and he said, “I guess the president of the MTA.” I would go after him, but I doubt he would respond.

Apparently thousands of other customers are in this same predicament. I bet I don’t get a refund until early summer.

The Daily News reported a time limit in which Metro Cards purchased in 2010 could be used in 2011:

 A 30-day MetroCard, which will rise from $89 to $104, is valid until Feb. 8.

Second Avenue Sagas reported on February 8:

... To remind customers of this sunset date, the MTA sent out a press release yesterday with information on refunds. The authority says that customers still holding 30-day cards can get a pro-rated refund by mailing cards along with a questionnaire back to New York City Transit. The forms are available at subway station booths — if you can find one with a station agent — and on buses throughout the city. They’re also available as a PDF right here. For those who want to take care of their return in person, head to the MetroCard Customer Service Center at 3 Stone Street in Manhattan. I wonder how many people will find their remaining fare cards inactive tomorrow morning....

Trevre also emailed the MTA's F line General Manager Dwayne Anglero:

The street level door at the Roosevelt Island F train station has been broken for more than a year now.  Could we please have it fixed?  Thanks.

See below, it looked about the same this morning.

Image Of Roosevelt Island F Train Subway Broken Door Entrance

The photo was not part of Trevre's message to F Train Line General Manager. The "See below" was referencing the link.

MTA Proposes To Cut Free Student Metro Cards - Help Roosevelt Island Students By Signing Online Petition Urging Restoration

You Tube Video Of NYC Kids Close To Losing Free Metro Cards

The Huffington Post reports:

The cash-strapped agency that runs New York City subways and buses is considering a proposal to end the more than 60-year-old practice of giving free rides for schoolchildren, a move that could cost half a million students nearly $1,000 per year in transportation fees.

The proposal before the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board to end free rides for schoolchildren has parents wondering how to get their children to school...

According to the NY Times:

... The cuts to the student subsidies for the MetroCards are not yet final. The M.T.A. board will have a public comment period over the coming weeks, and then another vote early next year. If the cuts are approved, the 584,000 city students who receive free or half-fare MetroCards would all receive half-fare cards beginning next September. In September 2011, they would pay full fares — nearly $700 for a school year at current rates....

Also, from the NY Times:

... The proposal has been seen by some as a negotiating tactic, and some observers argued that the authority was within its rights to stop financing a program whose costs were once shared by the city and the state; in recent years, those government subsidies have flat-lined or disappeared.

“This is something the city and state should pay,” said Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. “It’s education spending, not transit spending. I think it is a pretty clever way to pressure the city and state to stop hiding their own budget problems in the M.T.A.”...

Governor Patterson is urging the MTA to reconsider cutting out free student Metro Cards. According to NBC New York:

...“If revenues come back in January, more so than we are predicting… if the upturn in the market is significant enough, the first thing I will do with added revenue is target them back to the MTA in order to relieve the young people from losing their MetroCards,” Paterson said during an appearance in the Bronx Tuesday.
“I would urge them [the MTA] in fairness to take another look at their plan and see if there’s another way to work it out. I just think that the last thing we want to do is to charge the children for the MetroCards to go to school,” he said. “But I do understand, not so much the decision making, as much as the difficult circumstances that the MTA is experiencing.”...

Roosevelt Island 360 does an analysis of what doing away with the free student Metro Card might mean for Roosevelt Island families.

Image From Roosevelt Island 360

A reader forwards us this online petition asking MTA Chairman Jay Walder to restore free student Metro Cards and seeking signatures.

To: Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Jay Walder
Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
347 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017

Dear Mr. Walder:

Hard working parents and students should not be punished for the MTA�s poor planning and mismanagement of its budget. The proposal to cut the free and reduced fare Student MetroCard program as a means of balancing the MTA budget is unacceptable and should be taken off the table immediately.

The free-fare student program accounts for less than 2% of the total MTA budget, and the State has not pulled its weight to fund this program as promised. However, eliminating such an important program to close a relatively small gap would be extremely shortsighted and detrimental to New York City�s future. While other jurisdictions rely on a yellow school bus to get their children to school, in New York City the yellow MetroCard is our school bus, which 400,000 students rely on every day to travel to school and participate in after-school activities. Cutting the Student MetroCard program is not the answer to the MTA�s budget shortfall, and we will not stand for its proposed elimination.

The MTA must act responsibly and consider a wide range of budget solutions before placing this financial burden on parents and students. We urge you to withdraw the MTA proposal to cut the free and reduced fare Student MetroCard program.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

So far, there are 5562 signatures.

Metro Card & Access A Ride Mobile Sales Presentation At Roosevelt Island Senior Center - Apply For Reduced Fare Metro Card On April 22

Image provided by RIOC

RIOC Community Relations Specialist Erica Wilder informs Roosevelt Islanders that Metro Card Mobile Sales is coming to the Roosevelt Island Seniors Center 546 Main Street on Wednesday April 22 from 10 AM - 2 PM. Presentations will be given regarding Access A Ride and Reduced Fare Metro Cards. If you are over 65 or have a qualifying disability you can apply for a reduced fare Metro Card.