Abolishment of Half-Price Student MetroCards; students will be able to use free ones

[Union Tpke]

Screen Shot 2019-05-17 at 2.32.18 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

Screen Shot 2019-05-17 at 2.32.37 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

Screen Shot 2019-05-17 at 2.32.44 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

Screen Shot 2019-05-17 at 2.32.51 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

Screen Shot 2019-05-17 at 2.32.55 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

Screen Shot 2019-05-17 at 2.32.59 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

Screen Shot 2019-05-17 at 2.33.04 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

 

[bobtehpanda]

"There will be no impact on reimbursements from New York City or state, since the half-fare program is not covered by City or state reimbursements."

The MTA ain't a charity, but people wonder why it's going broke.

[CenSin]

The MTA wasn’t getting paid anyway with the amount of fare-beating by teens. This is just a political move by DeBlasio.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

22 hours ago, bobtehpanda said:

"There will be no impact on reimbursements from New York City or state, since the half-fare program is not covered by City or state reimbursements."

The MTA ain't a charity, but people wonder why it's going broke.

Between this and that stupid no coins policy... Getting more complaints in my group about irate passengers angry that they can't pay with coins.  Poor communication by the  as usual...

[Deucey]

I didn’t grow up in the NYC school system, so I’m definitely not understanding why kids in the Bronx can attend Curtis High on Staten Island. But what I’m really not understanding is why with all these school buses in this city, 1) the city contracts that service out instead of running school buses directly, and 2) why the city isn’t just giving all students half-price metrocards instead of this means-testing scheme.

But remember, I came up in a state where all you needed was a school ID card to get a half-price unlimited monthly bus (and train) pass.

[WestFarms36]

5 hours ago, Deucey said:

I didn’t grow up in the NYC school system, so I’m definitely not understanding why kids in the Bronx can attend Curtis High on Staten Island. But what I’m really not understanding is why with all these school buses in this city, 1) the city contracts that service out instead of running school buses directly, and 2) why the city isn’t just giving all students half-price metrocards instead of this means-testing scheme.

But remember, I came up in a state where all you needed was a school ID card to get a half-price unlimited monthly bus (and train) pass.

Well, answer #1 is politics. Answer #2 is that not all these families with kids are in a sustainable economic environment to incur the costs of student transportation, of course in other places where there is more economic wealth and less expenses in other things it is much easier, but giving all students half-fare Metrocards would be an insane fight, I recall a couple of years ago when  wanted to eliminate the Student Metrocard program and have them pay the full fare, all hell broke loose. Plus I don't find nothing wrong with students using public transit, in reality if you think about it there is more flexibility, for example if one day you need to stay after-school for something its much easier, yellow bus transportation would complicate that since there is no pick up flexibility and everything on yellow bus transportation is on a permanently set schedule, another factor that comes into play is convenience, as opposed to riding the yellow bus and spending 2 hours going around the city picking up kids, you can probably wake up a little later and have a shorter commute to school, and it all circles back to flexibility at the end of the day.

[SoSpectacular]

I was one of those kids who got a half-price student card when I was in high school. It didn't serve me much purpose as I'd have to walk to a bus stop that's halfway through the walk to school (More like entirely out of my way). I never wound up using it despite getting them every year.

[LTA1992]

The beauty of foster care is I was entitled to a full-fare card (had to fight a school or two to remind them) and I made THE most use out of it.

Ended up in night school for my last two years of high school and let me say, that extra day on the night school card (worked Monday to Saturday with an 11pm cutoff) made life easy.

Honestly, having a school metro allowed me to do things I wouldn't have been able to otherwise. So I can see the benefit.

[ABOGbrooklyn]

17 hours ago, Deucey said:

I didn’t grow up in the NYC school system, so I’m definitely not understanding why kids in the Bronx can attend Curtis High on Staten Island. But what I’m really not understanding is why with all these school buses in this city, 1) the city contracts that service out instead of running school buses directly, and 2) why the city isn’t just giving all students half-price metrocards instead of this means-testing scheme.

But remember, I came up in a state where all you needed was a school ID card to get a half-price unlimited monthly bus (and train) pass.

Yellow bus is only used from grade K to 6 and even when I was in the 5th grade, I got a orange student metro card. Most kids go to their local elementary school which is only blocks away from where they live so only kids who get bused live far away so the yellow buses are not used much in NYC. Since many kids do live walking distance from there school, the MTA wont give metro cards to every child.

Edited May 19, 2019 by ABOGbrooklyn
Spelling

[ABOGbrooklyn]

Where was this when I was in school!? Wth I was almost far enough for a full school metro but was off by one block! 

Edited May 19, 2019 by ABOGbrooklyn

[Union Tpke]

This is a screen recording I took of a notably incompetent exchange during the Transit Committee meeting concerning this issue. We need transit advocates on the board, not people who don't know what is going on.

 

[MHV9218]

2 hours ago, Union Tpke said:

This is a screen recording I took of a notably incompetent exchange during the Transit Committee meeting concerning this issue. We need transit advocates on the board, not people who don't know what is going on.

 

Sad, but unsurprising. Schwartz is a useless thug, a Cuomo lackey with no knowledge of anything who's been handed this extremely important place. Very corrupt and frustrating, but at least he wasn't made Chairman as some worried...

[LTA1992]

On 5/20/2019 at 7:34 PM, MHV9218 said:

Sad, but unsurprising. Schwartz is a useless thug, a Cuomo lackey with no knowledge of anything who's been handed this extremely important place. Very corrupt and frustrating, but at least he wasn't made Chairman as some worried...

Outside of this, Schwartz was one of the FEW peopke making sense today and one of the FEW who actually stood up to Foye on the BS pulled in regards to last months requests to have the heads of Siemens and Bombardier to come in and answer some questions publicly in regards to all the issues with PTC. Because after all, the Board makes the decisions and they have to use public money to execute them.

And speaking of Foye, does everyone who gets in his seat act like a tool after some time passes?

Edited May 22, 2019 by LTA1992

[YankeesPwnMets]

On 5/18/2019 at 6:08 PM, Deucey said:

I didn’t grow up in the NYC school system, so I’m definitely not understanding why kids in the Bronx can attend Curtis High on Staten Island. But what I’m really not understanding is why with all these school buses in this city, 1) the city contracts that service out instead of running school buses directly, and 2) why the city isn’t just giving all students half-price metrocards instead of this means-testing scheme.

But remember, I came up in a state where all you needed was a school ID card to get a half-price unlimited monthly bus (and train) pass.

The best high school is not necessarily the closest one to you, so students sometimes pick the better school further away rather than the local zone school. We shouldn't be telling poor kids to buzz off from the Stuyvesant's or Townsend Harris's just because they can't afford a MetroCard. I grew up on the Lower East Side and went to the Bronx High School of Science, which was 13 miles away as the crow flies. The opportunities I got from going there have reverberated through my adult life and was worth every single hour spent on the train. There is no way I am where I am in life if I ended up at the jank ass high school two blocks away from me.

School buses do not run for high school students. My HS had private school buses that you had to pay 100% out of pocket. Those were at least two grand when I was there.

 

[Deucey]

15 minutes ago, YankeesPwnMets said:

The best high school is not necessarily the closest one to you, so students sometimes pick the better school further away rather than the local zone school. We shouldn't be telling poor kids to buzz off from the Stuyvesant's or Townsend Harris's just because they can't afford a MetroCard. I grew up on the Lower East Side and went to the Bronx High School of Science, which was 13 miles away as the crow flies. The opportunities I got from going there have reverberated through my adult life and was worth every single hour spent on the train. There is no way I am where I am in life if I ended up at the jank ass high school two blocks away from me.

School buses do not run for high school students. My HS had private school buses that you had to pay 100% out of pocket. Those were at least two grand when I was there.

 

The closest thing we had in Sacramento was students could attend a non-neighborhood high school if they joined a unique program at that school - like JROTC, but you had to get yourself to it. Meaning either you drove yourself, carpooled, or you took the bus. And the transit district sold 24/7 unlimited bus passes to students at half the non-student fare.

But no one could cross district lines - meaning I couldn’t go to a Folsom District school if I didn’t live in Folsom’s school district (akin to not being able to go to Bx Science because I lived in Bk).

My point was why isn’t  giving students 50% off on a 24/7 MetroCard- since they still have educational-related things to do outside school hours. Seems like an invitation to fare jump just to save money.

[Bay Ridge Express]

My hot take: Metrocards should be free for students under 18, period. At any time (just like London).

The restrictions will only encourage farebeating. I don't, but you see other students doing it all the time, even when they have free cards.

[YankeesPwnMets]

43 minutes ago, Deucey said:

The closest thing we had in Sacramento was students could attend a non-neighborhood high school if they joined a unique program at that school - like JROTC, but you had to get yourself to it. Meaning either you drove yourself, carpooled, or you took the bus. And the transit district sold 24/7 unlimited bus passes to students at half the non-student fare.

But no one could cross district lines - meaning I couldn’t go to a Folsom District school if I didn’t live in Folsom’s school district (akin to not being able to go to Bx Science because I lived in Bk).

My point was why isn’t  giving students 50% off on a 24/7 MetroCard- since they still have educational-related things to do outside school hours. Seems like an invitation to fare jump just to save money.

Bronx Science (and 7 others) are special in that they are admission by examination only, and any NYC student can take the exam and as long as you can score about a cutoff determined by a secret formula, you're in. Most other schools do have a system of how they weigh applicants (your home address being one of them), but most schools will allow you to apply regardless of where you live.

Student MetroCards aren't 24/7 (they don't work on the weekends and nights) and they're capped at 3 rides a day - one to school, one to an afterschool activity, and one home. They aren't just a unlimited free for all

Edited May 24, 2019 by YankeesPwnMets

[Bay Ridge Express]

8 minutes ago, YankeesPwnMets said:

Bronx Science (and 7 others) are special in that they are admission by examination only, and any NYC student can take the exam and as long as you can score about a cutoff determined by a secret formula, you're in. Most other schools do have a system of how they weigh applicants (your home address being one of them), but most schools will allow you to apply regardless of where you live.

Student MetroCards aren't 24/7 (they don't work on the weekends and nights) and they're capped at 3 rides a day - one to school, one to an afterschool activity, and one home. They aren't just a unlimited free for all

But if you were to live in NJ and attempt to go to school in Manhattan that would be a no-no, apparently, unless you have some sort of permission.

Edited May 24, 2019 by Bay Ridge Express

[YankeesPwnMets]

5 minutes ago, Bay Ridge Express said:

But if you were to live in NJ and attempt to go to school in Manhattan that would be a no-no, apparently, unless you have some sort of permission.

Good point. I meant to say "no matter where you live in the city***"

[MysteriousBtrain]

56 minutes ago, Bay Ridge Express said:

But if you were to live in NJ and attempt to go to school in Manhattan that would be a no-no, apparently, unless you have some sort of permission.

Well yeah, because it's travel between two different states. It's probably some kind of law that makes traveling between states for students difficult.

[Bay Ridge Express]

1 hour ago, MysteriousBtrain said:

Well yeah, because it's travel between two different states. It's probably some kind of law that makes traveling between states for students difficult.

Yep, so if even if you live closer to your school (in NYC) in NJ than you would if you were in a different borough, that would be quite unfortunate.

Edited May 24, 2019 by Bay Ridge Express

[bobtehpanda]

On 5/18/2019 at 6:08 PM, Deucey said:

I didn’t grow up in the NYC school system, so I’m definitely not understanding why kids in the Bronx can attend Curtis High on Staten Island. But what I’m really not understanding is why with all these school buses in this city, 1) the city contracts that service out instead of running school buses directly, and 2) why the city isn’t just giving all students half-price metrocards instead of this means-testing scheme.

But remember, I came up in a state where all you needed was a school ID card to get a half-price unlimited monthly bus (and train) pass.

Schoolbuses are kind of a patchwork; many schools, especially in traffic prone areas like Manhattan, do not offer them. And the school bus system is expensive, which is why back in the '00s Bloomberg nuked a bunch of the school bus network and handed out free Metrocards instead. They definitely don't want to bear the cost directly.

The existence of half-price metrocards is a holdover from ye olden days pre-Metrocard, IIRC. They made it this far because "something something fiscal responsibility", except this latest thing is an admission that the administrative costs are way too high to justify a two-tier system, and everyone should just get the free three-trips-daily student Metrocard because it's cheaper. If the MTA didn't have to, it wouldn't, because NYC and the State do not pay the costs of running this feel-good giveaway.

As far as school choice goes, the general idea was twofold; one, kids wouldn't get trapped in a bad school zone, and two, wealthy parents wouldn't feel the need to gentrify neighborhoods that happen to have good schools. In practice, there are so many goddamn schools that the NYC school choice guide for high schools is the size of a phone book where each single-side page is a different school, and the only people who have the patience to navigate the system are wealthier. I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with the idea, but it doesn't really scale up to a school district with more than a million kids.

[paulrivera]

2 hours ago, Bay Ridge Express said:

My hot take: Metrocards should be free for students under 18, period. At any time (just like London).

The restrictions will only encourage farebeating. I don't, but you see other students doing it all the time, even when they have free cards.

Especially nowadays where weekend school trips are becoming more and more common (sounds like an OT pilfer for educators but that’s DOE’s problem. I have never heard of weekend school trips being so commonplace up until the past couple of years or so)

[Lex]

2 hours ago, bobtehpanda said:

As far as school choice goes, the general idea was twofold; one, kids wouldn't get trapped in a bad school zone, and two, wealthy parents wouldn't feel the need to gentrify neighborhoods that happen to have good schools. In practice, there are so many goddamn schools that the NYC school choice guide for high schools is the size of a phone book where each single-side page is a different school, and the only people who have the patience to navigate the system are wealthier. I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with the idea, but it doesn't really scale up to a school district with more than a million kids.

Then you have those students that are capable of using the system but are in special education programs, and some of those students are more removed than others.

[WestFarms36]

16 hours ago, Deucey said:

The closest thing we had in Sacramento was students could attend a non-neighborhood high school if they joined a unique program at that school - like JROTC, but you had to get yourself to it. Meaning either you drove yourself, carpooled, or you took the bus. And the transit district sold 24/7 unlimited bus passes to students at half the non-student fare.

But no one could cross district lines - meaning I couldn’t go to a Folsom District school if I didn’t live in Folsom’s school district (akin to not being able to go to Bx Science because I lived in Bk).

My point was why isn’t  giving students 50% off on a 24/7 MetroCard- since they still have educational-related things to do outside school hours. Seems like an invitation to fare jump just to save money.

Well the Student MetroCard is only functional from Monday-Friday from 5:30am-8:30pm, capped at 3 trips, and for the students who make multiple transfers get a 4 trip, as well as a Special program pass good for two trips, night school Student MetroCard, and one variant which can be used during the weekends for those with weekend school. People may be economically stable enough to pay for a students transportation costs, and may be tiered due to low living costs out there compared to NY, but here you got families which raise their kids in poverty, high expenses, and sometimes can barely afford to give their kids money for lunch (and school lunch has now been made free for all), I morally feel that a student shouldn't have to pay in order to get to school, and or be barred from attending a school that can bring students enormous opportunities in their life. Every student who meets the requirements has a right to be legally entitled to a FREE Student MetroCard in order to meet their needs, of course we have those who don't use them, but I blame that on the DOE for failing to provide those students with educational instruction on these things, and if the DOE did invest time in educated these students each semester on the valuable use of their Student MetroCard, more and more students would be motivated to use them instead of Fare beating (which isn't always intentional), another thing that complicates the use is if a student looses their Student MetroCard, the school secretaries which are responsible to distribute them, are just nasty and anal about giving a new one to the students, and I wish the distribution would be handled directly by the  for more accessibility, and simplicity. Other agencies mail student passes to their home, as opposed to NY, where you have no choice, but to beat the fare on the first few days of school because you receive your Student MetroCard once you're in school on the first few days.