New York City Schoolchildren Get Free Subway Cards

New York City students get free OMNY transit cards if they don't live near a school, reports Gothamist.

Some families living near the school say they are unfairly denied free access travel with new OMNY cards for students.

New rules for free travel

Under an initiative introduced last week, students who live more than 1 mile from school are eligible for free OMNY cards. They cover four rides a day on the subway or bus. Those rides are good all day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. That's a big improvement over the previous policy for student MetroCards.

This map gave students three travel per day from 05:30 to 20:30, and only on school days.

Unfair conditions

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has sent 1,5 million tap-to-pay cards to schools, which are responsible for distributing them to students.

Residents whose children's schools are within 1 km say they have been unfairly overlooked. Of course, the program offers big savings on transportation, summer projects and internships.

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"They should give every kid in a public school one of these cards," said Manhattan parent Jill Goldstein.

She believes that children who live close to school should also be able to save money on transportation to extracurricular activities, work, or summer internships. Her daughter takes the subway and buses to extracurricular activities and to work on projects with friends.

“I have a hard time understanding their geographic restrictions,” Goldstein said. “Why do some kids in public schools have to pay and others don’t?”

Daron Ruskey, a Manhattan parent of twins, noticed that one of his children, who goes to school near his home, did not receive an OMNY card, but the one who has to commute a little further did.

Students who ride school buses, including those in special education, also cannot get free OMNY cards, he said.

"All schoolchildren should actually be treated equally," he stressed.

Raskey launched a change.org petition to end OMNY's restrictions, which has already garnered more than 800 signatures.

“The OMNY Pass is much more than just a ticket to and from school. It gives students access to the city, part-time jobs, internships, and other educational opportunities that exist well beyond school,” the petition reads.

Officials said they were reviewing the petition.

“We value all feedback from families and will work with our partners at the MTA to review the petition,” said Jenna Lyle, a spokesperson for the Department of Education, in a statement.

Raskey said expanding eligibility for OMNY cards would help achieve another MTA goal: reducing fare evasion.