If you ride the subway five days a week, the difference between paying $2.90 a swipe and $1.45 a swipe adds up to roughly $750 a year. That is real money in a city where every monthly bill seems to creep upward. Fair Fares NYC is the city’s program that cuts the cost of subways, eligible buses, and Access-A-Ride trips in half for low-income New Yorkers. According to the NYC.gov Fair Fares site, 374,023 New Yorkers have already enrolled. But hundreds of thousands more are eligible and have not signed up, often because they assume the income limits are too tight or they think the program is only for people on public assistance. Neither is true.

Here is the current state of Fair Fares for 2026, what changed in the last year, and exactly how to apply.

Who Qualifies in 2026

Fair Fares has three eligibility requirements, per the official NYC.gov Fair Fares eligibility screener:

1. You live in one of the five boroughs of New York City.
2. You are between 18 and 64 years old.
3. Your household income is at or below the program’s income limit.

The 2026 income limits published on the NYC.gov Fair Fares eligibility screener are:

• 1 person household: $23,940
• 2 person household: $32,460
• 3 person household: $40,980
• 4 person household: $49,500
• 5 person household: $58,020
• 6 person household: $66,540
• 7 person household: $75,060
• 8 person household: $83,580
• Each additional person: add $8,520

Those numbers reflect the program’s expansion to 150% of the federal poverty level, the threshold the city formally adopted in 2025. If you looked at Fair Fares a year or two ago and decided you made too much, look again. A single person making $23,000 qualifies. A family of three earning $40,000 qualifies. A four-person household pulling in just under $50,000 a year qualifies. These are not bare-minimum poverty numbers — these are working New Yorker numbers.

What You Get

Approved enrollees get a 50% discount on subway fares, eligible bus fares, the Staten Island Railway, the Roosevelt Island Tram, and the Hudson Rail Link. The discount is also applied to Access-A-Ride paratransit trips. With the standard MTA fare currently at $2.90, your Fair Fares ride costs $1.45.

One important update: Fair Fares is now an OMNY-based program. The MetroCard-era card is being phased out. According to the ACCESS NYC Fair Fares page, approved applicants receive a Fair Fares OMNY Card in the mail within roughly three weeks. Access-A-Ride users do not get an OMNY card — the discount is applied automatically once their Access-A-Ride account is linked.

If you were already enrolled in Fair Fares on a MetroCard, you can switch to the new OMNY card by logging into the ACCESS HRA Fair Fares portal and either renewing your enrollment, reporting your MetroCard lost or stolen, or using the dedicated “Switch Fair Fares Discount from MetroCard to OMNY” form in the Quick Links section. Your existing Fair Fares MetroCard remains active until it expires or 30 days after you request the OMNY card, whichever comes first.

Immigration Status Does Not Matter

This is one of the most under-publicized facts about Fair Fares: per the ACCESS NYC program page, the program is available to all NYC residents regardless of immigration status. There is no requirement to be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or to hold any specific visa. If you live in the five boroughs, you are between 18 and 64, and you meet the income limit, you qualify. The application does not ask immigration status.

The Two Disqualifiers Most People Miss

There are two situations where you are not eligible for the subways and buses discount even if you meet the income, age, and residency tests:

• You already get full carfare from DSS/HRA. If a city agency is already paying your full transit costs (for example, certain Cash Assistance recipients with carfare added to their benefit), Fair Fares does not stack on top of that.
• You already get a reduced fare through another NYC program. The Reduced-Fare MetroCard for seniors and people with qualifying disabilities is a separate program. If you receive that, you cannot also receive the Fair Fares subway and bus discount.

For Access-A-Ride, the only disqualifier is already receiving full carfare from DSS/HRA.

What You Need to Apply

The application asks you to verify identity, age, NYC residency, and income. The full Fair Fares NYC List of Suggested Documentation is published by the city, but the documents most applicants use are:

• Photo ID (IDNYC card, state-issued ID, driver’s license, passport)
• Proof of NYC address (utility bill, lease, ConEd bill, bank statement with NYC address)
• Proof of income (recent pay stubs, tax return, Social Security award letter, unemployment statement)

You do not have to provide everything in one shot. You can submit the application first and upload documents afterward through the ACCESS HRA mobile app.

Action Steps

1. Run the eligibility check. Visit the NYC.gov Fair Fares page and use the on-page eligibility tool. It walks you through the four key questions in under two minutes.
2. Start the application. Go directly to the ACCESS HRA Fair Fares portal. Create an ACCESS HRA account if you do not already have one.
3. Download the ACCESS HRA mobile app. This is how you submit document photos after the application is started. It is significantly faster than mailing copies.
4. Apply in person if you prefer. The Fair Fares NYC contact page lists in-person locations across the five boroughs.
5. If you are an existing MetroCard holder, switch to OMNY now. Use the dedicated switch form in your ACCESS HRA portal so you are not stuck without a working card when your MetroCard expires.

If You Get Denied

Denials happen most often because of an income document mismatch — for example, a pay stub that does not match the household size you listed, or a missing recent pay stub. Per the program’s standard practice, you can resubmit corrected documents through ACCESS HRA without starting a new application. If you have trouble, call 311 and ask for Fair Fares — the city’s hotline can transfer you to a Fair Fares specialist who can pull up your file and tell you exactly what is missing.

One Final Note

Fair Fares is not means-tested in the punitive way some benefits are. Once you are approved, you do not have to recertify every month. The income test happens at enrollment and renewal. For a working New Yorker who qualifies, this is one of the most efficient $700-plus annual savings available — and the application takes less than half an hour. If you have been putting it off, this week is a good week to do it.